Darkness Within the Stars
by Trafalgar Neo
Summary: Stars are beautiful. Yet beauty can often house deadly dangers and lies. Zerina, a childhood friend of Luffy and daughter of Shanks, is reunited with him after years of separation. She is welcome among the Straw Hats, but as things progress, Sanji starts questioning her honesty and loyalty to Luffy when he realizes she has lied to the naive captain.
1. Zerina

Zerina

 _"What do you mean you have to leave?!" Luffy cried, literally. Zerina sighed at the tear streaked black haired old boy in front of her._

 _"I'm sorry, Luffy." Zerina moved closer to hug him, but he jerked away from her when she got close. "This isn't 'Goodbye', it's just 'See you later'."_

 _"But you're leaving!" Luffy wailed. "It is goodbye!"_

 _Zerina smiled tenderly even though the young boy didn't see it. "I'm not going to be gone forever, you know?"_

 _"No! I don't know!" Luffy cried. "You said we'd always be together! You're my girlfriend! We're supposed to be together forever! You promised!"_

 _Zerina giggled. She knew Luffy didn't know the different between a girl friend and a girlfriend. But still he called her that and she let him call her that._

 _"And I'm keeping that promise, Lalu." Zerina stepped closer to Luffy again. When he tried to jerk away from her, she grabbed him and pulled her into a hug. She pressed her forehead to his and both of them started to glow. "My promise I never break. By my star I am born, we are bonded, Lalu. We will always know what's going on with each other. And, if you ever need me, I will come back to you."_

 _Luffy sniffed a couple times. He lifted up from her forehead, the glow remained around them. "Promise?"_

 _"I gave you my Star Promise, My Lalu." Zerina pressed her lips to his forehead._

 _Zerina pulled away from Luffy and opened her eyes. She paused when she noticed his body was fading away. She gasped. "Luffy? What's going on? You're disappearing."_

 _Luffy started talking again, but she couldn't hear what he said. Her heart seized up. He faded away more. She reach out to grab him. Her hand went right through him. She paused to notice her hand wasn't small anymore. She looked down at her body. She was no longer a child. She was a teenager._

 _"Ace!" Zerina's head snapped up when she heard Luffy's voice cry out._

 _"Luffy?" She looked around. But all she saw was pitch black._

 _"Ace!"_

 _"Luffy?" She asked again. "Where are you?"_

 _"Ace!"_

 _"Something's wrong," She said. She grabbed her chest in pain and collapsed to the ground. "It…It hurts. What's wrong? What's happening?"_

 _"Zerina…"_

 _"Who's there?"_

 _"Zerina?"_

 _"No! Stop! I can't leave him yet!"_

" _Zerina!_ Get up this instant!"

Zerina gasped as reality finally broke into her dream. She shot up in bed. Cold sweat slid down her skin, her clothes were clinging to her from all the sweat. Her breath was labored as her mind spun with her current dream. She placed a hand on her face, trying to calm herself down. "What was that?"

"What are you mumbling about? You know ladies should never mumble." Zerina groaned inwardly. "Will you get up already?! It is far past six o'clock. A lady should always rise with the sun. Haven't I taught you anything?"

"My apologizes, milady." Zerina pushed off her thick blanket. She placed her feet on the cool floor and stood up. Collapsing her hands in front of her, Zerina held her head up and looked at the woman that was speaking to her, Angel. Angel was her aunt. The woman was tall, physically beautiful, thin with curves in all the right places and high cheek bones.

Behind the sneering woman were three maids. All of them dressed in the typical black and white uniforms of servants with their white hair pulled back in buns. Everyone who lived on this island, but for Zerina, had white hair and silvery green or silvery blue eyes. These traits were passed down the generations, but only to people of the island.

And the reason for this was because of the magic that resided on the island and those who were originally born on this island hundreds of years ago. Magic that allows the wielders to grant wishes. Zerina's magic was unstable. She was what the privilege elite called a Dark Wish granter. No matter how innocent the wish would be, it would always come out dark and destructive. So she was forbidden from using her magic and if she did, even if it was an accident, she would be punished for it.

Zerina looked at the maids. She didn't know any of them. There were very few maids and butlers that Angel currently kept around that Zerina knew. Others were constantly being swapped with new staff. Zerina didn't know why. She assumed it was because Angel was looking for the _perfect_ people to serve her. Angel was a decedent of one of the ones who discovered this island and its secrets. Secrets which Zerina was not privileged to know even thought her bloodline too was connected to the one of the ones who discovered this island.

Zerina dipped her head in a quick bow. She said, "I did not mean to over sleep, milady. It shall not happen again."

"I should hope not," Angel said, smoothing out an invisible wrinkle in her maroon color dress. This woman was all about perfection. Her shiny, thick, wavy white hair was always neatly pulled back in a tight bun high on her head. Her bangs were _perfectly_ cut in a straight line just above her ' _perfectly_ _plucked to the right thinness'_ eyebrows. Her make up was always applied correctly and brightly, which Zerina thought was too much. But Angel loved her makeup. Angel believed she was the embodiment of perfection.

Zerina was not perfect. She knew no one ever really was. Perfection was an impossible goal to obtain. But to Angel, Zerina was far from being the perfect niece-young woman-she envisioned Zerina should be. To Angel, Zerina would never be perfect. She was only five foot five. Only five inches shorter than Angel, but to Angel, Zerina might as well have been only two inches tall. Zerina was also fairly small in the bust size. She wasn't very curvy at all either. She was just average.

Zerina didn't mind thought. She didn't have a problem with how she looked. One thing she did really like about herself was her red hair. The hair she got from her father. The red hair that was straight and unevenly cut. The hair that Angel always sneered at with disgust.

Zerina moved her hands around to her back. She reached up and clenched a hold of the longest layer of her hair that fell to the middle of her back. She tugged a strain as Angel sighed. Zerina resisted the urge to pull away when Angel walked over to her and cupped her cheek. The woman's hand was cold. She never knew Angel's touch to ever be warm, in more ways than one. Angel sighed again. "I know it is not your fault you are sick. It is that wretched woman's fault that you were born this way."

Zerina gritted her teeth and clenched her fists as she braced to hear yet again the reason for her _imperfections_. "If only your mother was smart enough to not have an illegitimate child with _that_ man, _that_ _pirate_."

"My mother _did_ marry my father," Zerina said before she could stop herself. A sharp pain shot through Zerina's right cheek as Angel's hand collided with it.

"Do not talk back to me, _child_. Your _mother_ did not marry _that_ man by _our_ laws. You are an illegitimate child!" Angel hissed. Zerina straightened herself back up. She ignored the blood slipping down her now reddened cheek. She forced herself to choke back a gag when Angel suddenly took on a distraught look in her silvery green eyes and covered her deep red lips with her hands. "Oh, dear me, I should not have struck you. I know it is not your fault you are such a delicate, ill little flower. If you weren't sick then you would be able to easily hide that hideous hair of yours with your magic, but alas, you cannot."

Angel sniffled as she wiped a fake tear from her eye. "We shall forget this ever happened. Dress now, child. Breakfast is awaiting for us downstairs."

Angel turned, her dress twirling as she went, and headed for the door. The woman paused to give Zerina a look of warning. "And do cover up that scar of yours. A lady should be presentable at all times. I'm sure Mari will be happy to help you dress as always."

"Of course, milady," Mari said as she walked through the door. Zerina felt a little better with this short, slightly plump woman around. Mari was the closest thing Zerina had to a mother.

On the surface, Mari was all business. But when they, the workers or slaves depending on who you asked, were gathered together away from the elite, Mari let her real opinion of their masters be heard. Mari made things fun. Mari made things bearable.

"Then I shall see you in a few minutes," Angel said. The woman flowed out of the room with her three maids quickly, and quietly, following behind her.

Once the door was securely closed, Mari stuck her tongue out at the mistress of the household. "Such a despicable woman, that one is. One of these days that bad karma is gonna bit her on her butt. And I so hope I'm there to see it."

Zerina giggled. She instantly felt better. Mari huffed then turned to Zerina. "So what's up with you today? You're usually more careful."

"I'm sorry," Zerina sighed. She plopped back down on her bed. "I was having an intense dream about Luffy."

"Ah." Mari let out a drawl of understanding. "Your boyfriend wreaking havoc again? Did he go after another government facility?"

Zerina huffed. "Luffy's not my boyfriend, Mari. He didn't understand the word when we were kids and I'm sure he doesn't understand it now. Besides, he just wants to have fun. Being in a relationship will only complicate that."

"You are in such denial about your feelings. You've grown very fond of him over the years." Mari gave Zerina a knowing smirk.

"Oh! Hush!" Zerina half heartily demanded. Despite not seeing Luffy since they were kids, she did somehow developed feelings for him. She stood up from her bed and walked over to the balcony doors. She pushed them open and stepped out onto the balcony. "Long distance relationships never work out. And we are as about as far away from each other as two people can get."

Zerina gestured to their surroundings. Their star blanketed surrounds. "We're technically not even on the same planet."

"Technically, this island _was_ part of that planet below us," Mari huffed. She stepped out onto the balcony and looked out at the floating island called Hydra. "It still is despite it floating in the air."

"Mari, how can this island still be apart of that world when we're isolated from it?" Zerina asked.

"Because it _came_ from that world. And one day it will return to that world. Just like you will return to Luffy and your father," Mari said with a soft smile.

Zerina couldn't help but scoff. "The only way for that to happen would be for someone to actually find where the elite hid the portals. And no one has seen them since I was dragged back to this horrid island years ago."

"That was an odd coincident," Mari said.

"What do you mean?" Zerina asked.

"Oh it's nothing." Mari smiled. Zerina put her hands on her hips and tapped her toes on the floor. Mari marched up to Zerina. She took the young woman's chin in her hand and looked at the cut on her cheek. "Don't give me that look. Besides, we don't have time to discuss this any farther. You have to get dress and get downstairs to breakfast before _her majesty_ looses it again. _Angel_ indeed, the correct name for her should be Demon."

Zerina giggled again. "She definitely is not angel."

Mari gestured for Zerina to follow her. Another maid, one Zerina didn't know, had filled Zerina's bathtub already by the time she got into the bathroom. The bathtub was ridiculously big. It could easily fit six people comfortably.

Zerina pulled off her cotton nightgown. She paused when one of the long, oval shaped mirrors caught her eye. There were several of these mirrors bolt down to the floor in Zerina's bathroom. They were also bolted where they couldn't be flipped like the design should have allowed.

Angel had placed them there years ago when she had first married Zerina's uncle and moved into the manor. They were placed there so Zerina would always be reminded of her imperfections. They were also placed there to constantly show Zerina the scar on her back. The, ironically star shaped scar that Angel had put there herself whenever Zerina would use her magic. She often wondered if Angel hit her like she did on purpose to create the star design or if it was an accident. Two long star points with several other points marred her skin between the longer points.

Mari's sigh brought Zerina out of her transfixed stare at the 'just healing' scar. "Hurry up with your bath and I'll put some healing ointment on that and your cheek. It'll be healed soon."

"No, it won't," Zerina said softly. "You know Angel won't let that happen."

Zerina heard Mari sigh as she slipped into the hot water of her bath. She didn't take long. She knew Angel despised wrinkled skin, no matter that it wasn't her skin to begin with. After washing her hair and the sweat, that her dream produced, off her body, Zerina quickly got out of the tub. Mari was holding out a towel for her. She grabbed it and wrapped it around her body before exiting the room.

While Mari bustled about, getting Zerina's simple dress ready for her, Zerina quickly brushed out her wet hair. She pulled her hair into a loose bun then paused when she caught her own eyes in the mirror attached to her vanity. Her eyes were silver. It gave her a ghostly look. She wished she had her father's eyes. Her father's eyes could easily scare every single elite on this island with just one harsh glare.

Zerina laid her brush back down on the vanity. She then reached under the table and pressed against the marble. A faint click was heard before a secret hiding slot opened up. She pulled out a piece of paper that was inside. On it was her father: Red Haired Shanks. Of course this was an old wanted poster. She knew that her dad no longer had his trademark straw hat. He had given it to Luffy ten years ago. While she wasn't there when her dad gave Luffy the hat, Luffy had told her about it through their bond. Thinking of their bond, Zerina tried to contact him. " _Luffy? Are you there?"_

Nothing. Zerina sighed. She put the wanted poster back into its hiding place and closed it up. "He must be busy."

"Trying to contact your lover?" Mari asked.

Zerina felt her cheeks grow hot. "Luffy is _not_ my lover!"

"In time he will be," Mari laughed.

"Ugh! You are impossible!" Zerina snapped.

"Never mind me. Hurry up and get dressed," Mari said with a dismissal wave of her hand. Zerina did. She rushed over to her changing wall and stepped behind it. Mari already had her dress on the hook. The woman had picked out a plain white sundress with matching slippers.

Zerina quickly put them on after Mari smeared some salve on her scar. She then glanced at herself in the wall length mirror that also stood behind the changing wall as Mari did her best to cover up the scar on her cheek. Zerina didn't mind the simple dress and shoes. But Angel wouldn't like it. It really didn't matter. No matter how simple or fancy she dressed Angel would always disapprove. Mari dabbed some salve on the cut on Zerina's face. She blew it dry before applying a light coat of make up over it. Zerina sighed. With nothing else she could do about her appearance, Zerina headed downstairs.

Before she even got halfway down the stairs, the smells of breakfast greeted her. Eggs, bacon, gravy, biscuits were obviously on the menu along with an array of fruits. It made her stomach rumble in protest that she wasn't eating yet. Zerina paused on the stairs when she noticed some maids talking with a tall woman that she didn't recognize. The woman was dressing in a slick navy colored tight fitting business skirt and matching coat. Her white hair was pulled back in a tight braid.

"I suppose this place will do," The woman said. She paused and gave Zerina a cold, inspecting looking over her thin rimmed glasses. Zerina barely heard the woman's disapproving scoff before turning back to the maids. "But it must be much cleaner for the upcoming event."

 _Event?_ Zerina wondered. _What is Angel planning now, another ball perhaps? She does love showing off her beauty and her waltzing skills. That means I'll be working out in the gardens today to gather up flowers for the dance._

Zerina brushed off the new woman and headed for the dinning hall. The smells of breakfast became stronger with each step she took. Soon she turned into the room. Her aunt and uncle were already sitting at the table. Her uncle was a six foot three inches tall man. His white hair was always sliced back, Angel's preference because she liked it when she could see his silvery blue eyes. He was dressed in his typical dark grey business suit. At the moment a red cloth napkin donned the front of his shirt to protect it from falling food with another one on his lap to catch the food.

Angel shot her a dark look. "About time you decided to grace us with your presence."

"Zerina," Galen, her uncle's, voice boomed around the room. He continued to berate her while not looking up from his newspaper. "You're late. Are we going to have to now punish you for tardiness?"

"No, Uncle," Zerina apologized as she skirted around the long rectangular table to his left side. "I apologize for my tardiness. It shall not happen again."

"It better no-" Galen's voice cut off as Zerina sat down. "I see you cut yourself again. You're such a clumsy child. What was it this time? Another thorn?"

"Yes, Uncle," Zerina lied. She knew better than to speak the truth. Galen always took Angel's side, even when he saw the woman strike Zerina. Beside she knew that the make up covered up the scar, Angel had told him about it. "It was another thorn. It happened in the gardens."

Zerina forced herself not to smile. The thorn part wasn't a lie at all. Angel _was_ a thorn to Zerina. Galen scoffed. "Be careful next time. You need to be presentable for to-"

"Ahem! Darling!" Angel quickly cut him off. She had a fork, with a grape speared on it, raised to Galen's face. "Have you tried the grapes this morning? They are simple delicious!"

Galen took the round fruit in his mouth as Angel fed it to him. He hummed in fake delight as his eyes dropped back to his paper. "Indeed it is, my dear."

Zerina looked at her uncle then at her aunt. "Is there something happening that I should know about?"

"Of course not," Angel said while dabbing her lips with her napkin. "Now, eat your breakfast before it gets any colder than it already is."

Zerina sighed inwardly. She tried to contact Luffy again. " _Luffy? Are you there?"_

Nothing. Zerina sighed to herself again then picked up her fork.

…

"Ah!" Mari jumped when the little blue ball whacked her in the head. Angel's other nieces, nephews and cousins, from her side of the family, ran over to the garden where Zerina and Mari was currently working. There were fifteen of them ranging from the age four to thirteen. Mari grabbed the ball, choking down her desire to make the kids eat it, and handed it back with a forced sweet smile. "Here you go, little darlings."

"Give it!" One of the boys demanded. He snatched the ball from the woman's hand then ran off with the other kids.

"Her majesty could have warned us her sweet little family was stopping by today," Mari grumbled as she jammed her little shove into the dirt.

"You know why she didn't," Zerina sighed.

"Yeah, I know." Mari nodded. "She's trying to get you to _accidentally_ grant a wish. And she knows the best way to do that is having those brats around. Their loose lips are easy to control."

"Ze-rin-a!" The oldest of the kids, Angelica, a thirteen year old girl who was basically a mini version of Angel, called out. She stood up from her seat at the garden table and walked over to the two women in the garden. She swished her pink dress as she walked. The girl held a sickening sweet smile on her face. Her two female cousins, which she left at the table, giggled in anticipation.

"Speaking of which," Mari grumbled. "Zerina, get out of here now!"

Zerina only nodded in reply. She quickly stood up. "Mari, I'm going to go get some more water. These plants are very dry. Milady won't be happy if her flowers were to die."

"Indeed." Mari nodded. "Hurry up then."

"Zerina! I wish for Michel to eat a worm!" The teenage girl shouted out.

"Ung!" Zerina lurched forward. She dropped to her knees and grabbed her chest.

"No! I wish you not to grant that wish!" Mari cried, but it was too late. The air crackled around Zerina's body as she started to glow. A dark purplish blue aura surrounded her body. The glow flowed from her and wrapped around the seven year old. Tears poured down Michel's cheeks as Zerina's magic took a hold of him. The boy bent down and picked up a worm.

"Gross!" One of the girls giggled. They jumped up from the garden table and ran for the manor. "We're telling!"

"You're gonna get it now!" Angelica sang before turning and skipping after her cousins. "You're gonna get it now! You're gonna get it now!"

Just as Angelica got to the door of the manor, Angel stepped through it. Her expression was dark as she glared at Zerina. Angelica grabbed onto her aunt with tears running down her cheeks. "Auntie! Zerina's being mean! She used her magic on Michel! She made him eat a worm!"

" _Zerina!_ " Angel hissed. " _Inside_! _Now_!"

Knowing there was nothing they could do or say to stop this, Zerina and Mari remained quiet. Zerina obediently headed for the manor. When she got close enough, Angel grabbed her wrist and jerked her inside. Angel pulled Zerina through the kitchen. All the maids and butlers, the ones Zerina knew, only gave quick sympathetic glances as Zerina was pulled by them.

Angel then jerked Zerina into a small room just off the kitchen. It was where spices and some foods were stored. The woman jerked Zerina's hands to a rope that was hanging from the ceiling. She tided the rope around Zerina's wrists. She grabbed the back collar of Zerina's shirt and ripped it open, all the way down her back then unhooked her bra strap. "I'm sorry, Zerina. This really does pain me to have to do this. But you must learn that you are forbidden from ever using your magic, especially on _my family_."

Zerina held in a flinch as the whip collided with her already damaged skin. She blocked out the snapping of the whip by thinking about how goofy Luffy was when she was with him. His goofy smile, how much he was a crybaby then, how weak he was. It made this situation better. Luffy, despite not being by her side, always could make her feel better. She loved him. She loved everything she knew about him. She wanted to see him again. She wanted to be with him again.


	2. Escape

Escape

 **CHAPTER ONE has been rewritten. So be sure to go back and reread it before continuing with this chapter.**

…

Angel jerked the ropes that bound Zerina's wrists. The movement was done on purpose as it struck more pain in Zerina's already stinging back. Zerina dropped to the floor. Angel faked a sniffled while she hung the whip back up on the wall. "This really does hurt me, Zerina. I wish I did not have to do it."

Zerina glared through her hair when Angel sighed dramatically and draped herself against the wall. "I have half a mind to cancel tonight. But then, that would be a punishment for me and your uncle more than it would be for you."

"Tonight?" Zerina couldn't help but question. She pulled her falling shirt back up over her shoulders.

"You are to dine with me and my family," Angel said. Zerina's eyes widened. She was never allowed to eat with Angel's family. Something wasn't right. "I even had a special dress brought in for you to wear."

A special dress? Something definitely wasn't right. Zerina pushed herself up into a sitting position. Angel sneered at her. "Get off the floor, child! It is unbefitting for a young woman!" Zerina had to force herself to stand up. Even the tiniest of moves shot pain through her back. Once on her feet, Angel demand her to follow. "Come!"

Zerina forced herself to move. She got more sympathetic glances from the staff she knew. Mari was now in the kitchen. Zerina sent her an 'I'm fine' smile before following Angel out of the room. Cold silence hovered between the two women as they made their way back to Zerina's room. Zerina paused in confusion when she saw an unfamiliar dress hanging on the front of her changing wall.

Zerina tilted her head at the white, form hugging dress with the flowing skirt that was split open in the front revealing then light green silky underskirt. The neck on the dress was high collared, obviously designed to make sure to hide the scar on Zerina's back.

"This is the dress you will be wearing tonight," Angel said with venom in her voice. She snapped her fingers and another unfamiliar maid entered the room. The maid was like all the others. Zerina was staring to have trouble telling them apart. They were like clones of each other. "Beatrice will be attending to you to make sure you are presentable for my family. I expect you to be dress and on time. No more tardiness from you or you will be punished again. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," Zerina replied.

"Then get back to your duties!" Angel snapped. She then excused herself from the room with Beatrice following. The maid closed the door, but that didn't stop the fake hysterical cries from Angel out of the room. "Oh, Galen! I'm so sorry! I had to punish her again!"

"There, there, my dear," Galen cooed. "I'm sure she deserved it. It wasn't your fault. It'll be all right."

Zerina sighed. She turned away from the dress. She pulled off her ripped shirt and tossed it in the trash can. A whimper left her lips as she reached back to hook her bra strap back in place. She whimpered again when the strap rubbed against her damaged skin. She was going to have to go without it for a while. She unhooked it then tossed it aside before grabbing herself a clean shirt from her closet.

A light tap on the door was heard before Mari slipped inside. The woman didn't speak at first. She only pulled a small green container with a white lid from her pocket. "Let me put some of this salve on your back. Lay down, honey."

Zerina nodded. She laid down on the bed. Mari sat down on the edge and pulled the lid off the container. Zerina whimpered when Mari began to spread the cool gel over her back. "Hn."

"Sorry," Mari apologized.

"Don't be," Zerina said with a light shake of her head. "It's not your fault."

"Don't worry, Zerina. It won't be long before you are out of this horrible place," Mari said.

Zerina chuckled. "Not all wishes come true, Mari."

"Of course they do," Mari insisted.

"No, they don't," Zerina said with a sigh. "If I were to wish for my mother to come back to me, it won't happen. The dead cannot be brought back to life."

"Okay, for that one you are correct. But you will get out of here soon. Just be patient a little bit longer. Just be stronger a little bit longer." Zerina turned to look at Mari. The woman held a soft, far off gaze in her eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Zerina asked. "You know full well that the gates to get off this island were hidden years ago. They've probably been destroyed."

"Perhaps." Mari shrugged. "But where there is a front door, there is always a back door."

"Did you hit your head or something?" Zerina asked.

"Don't worry about it right now," Mari said while recapping the container. She stood up from the bed. "Let's get back to work."

Zerina was going to question her farther, but didn't get the chance as Mari noticed the dress in the room. "What in the name of stars is that doing in here?"

"That is apparently mine to wear tonight."

"So that's-What?"

"Her _majesty_ wants me to wear it tonight while dining with her family." Zerina was going to chuckle but the noise caught in her throat when she noticed an alarmed look flashing through Mari's eyes. "What's wrong, Mari? You look a bit pale."

"N-Nothing," Mari stuttered. "We better get back to work. We don't want to get into trouble again, now do we?"

"Yeah." Zerina nodded. She eyed Mari, but didn't say anything more on the subject.

…

 _"Ace!"_

"Hn!" Zerina grabbed her chest and fell forward.

"Hey! Are you all right, Zerina?" Mari asked. She grabbed Zerina's shoulders and helped her sit back up. Both were once again tending to the flower gardens. Angel's family had disappeared inside for some reason or other. So they were pretty much alone but for the other workers and the occasionally stay cat or dog that wondered by.

"Something's happening to Luffy," Zerina panted. "He's hurting."

"Got himself into another speck of trouble, eh?" Mari asked while she went back to ripping away at weeds. "What's he doing this time? Wrecking another government building like, uh, what was the last one?"

"No, this is something worse than that," Zerina said as her panting started to slow down. "His mind is so messed up. What happened? I still can't reach him."

"Don't worry about him right now. You need to focus on tonight." Mari ripped another weed out of the garden and tossed it onto the pile they had.

Zerina turned her eyes to Mari at that point. Something in the woman's voice wasn't right. "Mari, what's going on?"

"We're getting you out of here," Mari said with a smirk.

"What are you talking about?" Zerina blinked. "We've already been through this. No one can escape this island. The doors are lost."

"Just be patient. After tonight, you will no longer have to deal with this horrible place or that horrible woman and man who are supposed to be family," Mari said. "Just keep working like nothing is going on."

Zerina sighed again. She turned back to her weed pulling while calling for Luffy through their mind connection. " _Luffy? Can you hear me? Please, answer me. I really need to talk to you."_

Nothing, again.

With yet another sigh, Zerina turned her attention back to weed pulling. A few minutes later, Mari broke into her thoughts with her words and an elbow to her side. "You better get going now or you're going to be late. That new maid is probably already waiting for you."

"Shoot! I forgot!" Zerina jumped to her feet. She brushed the dirt off her as well as she could.

"Well, at least this will all be over soon," Mari said as she stood up. She plucked a piece of grass out of Zerina's hair then cupped the young teenager's face in her hand. Zerina paused and looked at the older woman. "Whatever happens, remember I am here for you. And I love you very much. You have always been a very important part of my life here, Zerina."

"Thanks, Mari." Zerina smiled with confusion. "You're a very important part of my life as well. I couldn't have made it all these years without you."

"You would have done fine. You are strong. Just like your parents," Mari said.

"I'm not strong at all," Zerina sighed. She looked down at the ground and kicked a dirt clump. "And I'm nothing like my parents. My mother had the guts to attempt to escape this place. And my father is a…"

"You _are_ strong. And soon you will see how strong you really are." Zerina pulled her eyes back up to Mari's. Mari smiled and nodded with determination. "You _will_ see that soon enough. Now get going. We both have a lot of preparing to do for tonight."

"Okay," Zerina said. She turned and head for the manor. Once at the door, she paused to look back at Mari. But Mari was no longer standing in the garden. She blinked in confusion and wondered where the woman had gone in such a hurry.

Zerina looked around once again for Mari. But the woman couldn't be found anywhere. She wondered what the older woman was talking about before. There was no escape from this island. There hasn't been for years.

Zerina tried to shake off the odd behavior of her dearest friend as she entered into the kitchen. The delicious smell of meats, soups and other foods and spices hammered her nose. Her stomach rumbled at the yummy smells. "It smells so good in here."

"Thank's Zerina!" The three cooks crowed.

"Here, have an appetizer." One of the cooks stepped over to Zerina with a freshly buttered roll in his hand.

Zerina quickly took off her apron and hung it up on one of the pegs near the door then took the roll. She bit into it and hummed. "So good!"

"Hurry up now. We don't want you to get into trouble again," The cook said.

"Right." Zerina nodded. She quickly polished off the roll while hurrying throughout the kitchen. She dashed down the halls, hoping not to see anyone, especially Angel. It was times like this she wished, silently, that she didn't live in this manor. It didn't make for easy escapes with such long halls and no where to hide. She turned and headed up the stairs then made her way to her small room down the hall of the west wing on the third floor.

Zerina never understood why such a large house was made. This manor had six floors. Each floor had twenty rooms on each with. All of the bedrooms had their own large bathrooms and large beds. Only the ground floor was absent of bedrooms. She didn't know one single family that could actually fill up all these rooms. Not even the combined families of hers and Angel's would fill up this place.

…

Beatrice was already inside when Zerina finally made it to her room. The look on the woman's face told Zerina she should have already been there even thought it was two and a half hours until dinner was going to be served. Plenty of time to get bathed and dressed.

Beatrice frowned. "If the mistress knew of your tardiness, she would not be pleased. You should have been here long ago."

"I'm sorry," Zerina apologized with fake sweetness. She batted her eyelashes. "I am after all ill. I do not know any better."

"I have half a mind telling her of this." Beatrice frowned with a low growl.

"Please do not do that!" Zerina begged. "I promise it won't happen again. I am here now."

Beatrice quietly took Zerina in. She spoke after sighing. "Very well. I will let this slide just this once. Hurry up and get bathed."

Zerina only nodded in response. She wasn't sure if the woman was really going to keep quiet about her tardiness or not. She shook her head. There was no point in worrying about it now. She didn't have to do anything to receive Angel's fury.

Zerina dashed into the bathroom to find her tub had already been filled with steaming water. She disrobed and slid in. Gritting her teeth as the hot water stung her back. She made this bath an extremely quick one. Soaking her wound for long wasn't good for it.

Once cleaned, Zerina pulled herself out of the tub and pulled on her robe. She stepped back into her room to find Beatrice already waiting the dress out. Zerina stepped over to the woman. Beatrice only nodded and the two stepped behind the changing wall. Zerina removed the robe from her body then allow this strange woman to help her into the fancy dress.

Zerina gritted her teeth when Beatrice jerked on the lace on the back of the dress. She believed the woman was purposefully doing that to hurt her injury. Probably under Angel's orders too. A little while later, Zerina was finally and completely dressed. Next Beatrice motioned Zerina to sit down on the cushioned stood at the vanity to apply the make up and do her hair.

Beatrice stood back and examined her work. Zerina's face now dusted lightly with make up and her hair was pulled back into a braided bun with a few wild strands, that refused to do anything-no matter how much hairspray Beatrice used-but remain free flowing, framing her face. "Beautiful. The mistress will be pleased that you are, for once, presentable. You should be grateful to the mistress to allow you to wear such a beautiful dress. She might even over look your hideous hair."

Zerina rolled her eyes. There was no way she was going to be grateful to wear this dress no matter how pretty it was. She didn't like the way it felt. She felt like her entire body couldn't breath or move properly. The makeup on her face didn't help the situation either. This was the first time she ever worn the stuff all over her face. Usually it was just used to cover up a scar or bruise. She felt like her entire face was being deprived of oxygen.

Just then there was a tapped on the door. Beatrice opened it. Jon, one of the butlers, eyes widened when he saw her. Zerina suddenly felt self-conscious. None of the workers, including herself, has ever seen her in such a beautiful dress.

"You look beautiful, Zerina," Jon said with an approving smile. "Your mother would be proud of the beautiful young woman you have grown into."

"Thanks." Zerina shifted nervously.

"Ahem!" Beatrice cleared her throat in annoyance. "Was there something you wanted?"

"Oh, yes, of course." He cleared his own throat. "Dinner is served."

"Get going!" Zerina was pulled out of her thoughts of self-consciousness when Beatrice hissed at her.

Zerina sighed but nodded before leaving her room. She turned to ask the butler a question but found he was missing. "Do you know where Mari…What the heck? Where did he go?"

Zerina turned and looked back down the hall. No one could be seen. An eerie chill fell over the hall. It sent a shiver up her spine. "This is just too weird."

With a dismissive shake of her head, Zerina started back down the hall. She tried not to think about how strange Mari had been earlier that day or how strange Jon was acting now. Chatter of familiar voices soon filtered into her ears. When they all stopped talking at once, she finally looked up from her thoughts. Angel's family was staring at her. Some held disapproving glares, such as Michel's mother and father. While others were obviously surprised at the dress she was wearing.

Zerina suddenly felt bad settling over her. All of her instincts were screaming at her to run. Something was not right about tonight. " _Oh, Luffy, I seriously need to talk to you. Answer me!"_

The sounds of her uncle clearing his throat brought Zerina back to reality. He was standing beside her. Dress in his fine black suit, clean shaven and a blank expression on his face. When did he get there? And why did he have his arm around her shoulders? "It is good of you to finally join us, Zerina. You look very beautiful tonight."

Alarms were now shrieking in her head. Her uncle hardly ever looked at her. She often doubted he even looked at her once since she's lived here. Zerina didn't have much time to debate anything that was going on. One second she was standing with her uncle, then next she was sitting beside Angel's nephew, Taru.

Taru was a tall young man, early twenties, with broad shoulders and a square chin. His hair was parted on the right side with each hair laying right where it should be. His icy eyes were wondering over the dress she was wearing or her body, she wasn't sure which he was actually looking at. She never saw him much, but she knew he was a smooth talker. He always had a different girlfriend every week. The way his eyes lingered on her made her sick. She felt like he was undressing her with his eyes.

Luckily for her, butlers soon moved into the dining hall carrying silver trays in their hands. They placed the trays down on the table before removing the lids from them. The meat dish exploded over the room. Normally, Zerina would loved the smells that came from the dished that the cooks of the manor made. But right now, all the smells were making her sick. She didn't want to eat. All she wanted to do was run back up to her room, remove this dress and lounge around in her pajamas and speak to Luffy until the early morning hours. No. What she really wanted was to run away from here. And run back to Luffy.

Zerina knew she had to eat something or risk being scolded or even punished again. So she picked up her fork and started to pick at the meat on her plate, forcing the first bit into her mouth. No one spoke to her. For that she was grateful. She didn't know what she would say to anyone even if they did speak to her.

"I would like to thank you all for coming to help us celebrate this joyous union," Galen said when he stood up some time later. Zerina had no idea how much time had passed. Time seemed to slip away from her.

 _Union?_ Zerina thought. She looked around at Angel's family. _Who's getting married?_

Galen continued to speak. "Let us raise our glasses in a toast! Here's to the blessed union of Angel's nephew, Taru, to my niece, Zerina."

Zerina felt her world shatter at that point. Everything and everyone faded from the room. Her stomach spun wildly inside of her. Her lungs hitched in her chest. She couldn't breath. She had to get out of there. But when she stood up, she found an arm around her waist. She barely register someone say, "Look at that. She's so excited she's speechless."

"As she should be," Another voice said with fake cheeriness. "Taru will make a fine husband for her."

Speechless wasn't right. There was plenty she could say, but knew she'd get punished if she did. Slowly things started coming back into focus. She saw everyone smugly smiling at her. They were more murmurs of fake happiness for her and Taru's engagement.

Taru leaned down to her ear. "Speechlessness is such a lovely quality in a wife, especially one with such a bloodline as yourself. But do not worry, my new love. The blood of your horrid father will thin out. Our descendants will be blessed with my blood."

 _"Ace!"_

Zerina's vision blurred as pain slammed her chest. She fell forward against the table, clanking the dishes together.

Taru laughed. "She's so excited she must feel faint. I am quiet the handsome one after all. I do not blame her."

Everyone laughed, but agreed with him.

"The poor dear must be over come with joy," Angel said with a smug look on her face. "She should get some fresh air. Taru, why don't you escort her around the gardens? It is such a lovely night. You two could get to know each other _better_."

Zerina shivered at the way Angel said the word 'better'. She had no time to protest, no time to think as Taru pulled her from the dining hall with striking speed and force. Next thing Zerina knew, they were out in the gardens. And he had her pinned to a tree by her hips. He leaned down close to her face. That's when she noticed the leering, lustful look in his eyes. She tried to push him away, but he was far too strong.

"I never noticed how truly beautiful you are. I guess I never noticed because you were always wearing such plain clothes." He leaned down and pressed his lips to her neck.

"Stop it!" Zerina hissed.

"Just relax. You are really going to enjoy this. I will treat you so well," Taru said while trailing kisses along her neck and up to her lips.

"No stop it," Zerina begged. She cried out in her mind for Luffy to answer her. _"Luffy!"_

"Don't worry. I won't be _too_ rough on you. I know you don't have any experience with men," Taru said while leaning down to her lips. Zerina felt tears swelling up in her eyes. Her heart pounded so hard in her chest it felt like it was also pounding in her head. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening.

Zerina pressed her hands to his chest and tried to push him away. She couldn't do it. She wasn't strong enough. He easily grabbed her wrists and pinned her arms back against the tree.

"Excuse me, young sir." A huge wave of relief washed through Zerina when she heard Jon's voice and felt Taru pulled away from her.

"What is it?" Taru growled.

"I was asked to bring this out to you both," Jon replied. He held up a tray with a bottle and two wine glasses. "Milady thought you both could use a drink."

"Well, my aunt is a very smart lady," Taru chuckled. He took the glasses from the tray. Zerina just stared at the glass when he held it out to her. "Go ahead. If my aunt says it's all right then it's all right. Besides, it will loosen you up."

Zerina looked at the glass then at Taru then over to Jon. Jon sent her a light nod. She raised her eyebrow at him in question. "It is all right, Zerina. You may have a drink. It is a special wine blend created by _Mari_."

Zerina's eyebrows raised in realization that something _was_ up and Mari _was_ involved. She nodded and took the glass from Taru. Taru clanked his glass against Zerina's. "Here's to us and to many, many, many joyous nights ahead."

Zerina didn't respond. She just brought the glass up to her lips. When she tilted the glass back, a small clear marble rolled down the glass and bumped into her lips. She lowered the glass to send Jon a questioning look, but stopped when she heard a thud. She looked to find Taru was on the ground, fast asleep. "What the heck? What's going on?"

"He's out! Hurry up!" Jon said. He waved to someone behind Zerina, but she didn't notice. Two other butlers rushed over. They picked up Taru and headed for the manor. Jon took the glass from her hand. He pulled out the marble and pocketed it. He then grabbed Zerina's wrist and pulled her along with him. "Come on, Zerina. We're getting you out of here."

"What?" Zerina asked. "What's going on?"

"We're not going to let you suffer from anymore abuse at Angel's hands. And we're certainly not going to let you suffer at the hands of Taru. He is far worse than his aunt," Jon explained as he led Zerina into the kitchen.

"What? You're not making any sense," Zerina said. Jon didn't reply as he led them up to the fireplace in the kitchen. He placed his free hand on it and fed it some of his magic. Much to Zerina's surprise, the entire fireplace began to glow and slid sideways to reveal a staircase. Strange glowing balls were attacked to the walls. They lit up the cool darkness that was now surrounding them. Jon once again began to led her. This time down the hidden stone stairs. Zerina jumped when the fireplace slid back into place on its won. "Moving on their own fireplaces, this day just keeps getting better and better."

"Taru has been married before," Jon said suddenly. "To another young woman much like yourself. He killed her."

"What?!" Zerina's blood ran cold. A single sweat drop slid down her forehead. "I was supposed to…He was going to…"

"Don't worry. We're not going to let that happen." Zerina didn't notice anything after that. While her mind was in shock, blocking out everything around her, her body continued to instinctually follow after Jon.

"Zerina!"

"Mari?" Zerina finally came back to her senses when she heard the familiar, and comforting voice of Mari. She looked up and saw her, but didn't say anything as her eyes locked onto a strange glowing bluish purple pond behind Mari and Jon.

"Snap out of it, Zerina!" Mari said. The woman grabbed Zerina's arm and pulled her towards the pond.

"Wha…What is that? It feels familiar," Zerina said.

"It's a door. You're going back to Luffy right now," Mari said. Zerina snapped her eyes to the woman. "There's no time to explain everything. You just get back to Luffy. Everything will work out just fine."

"But-" Before Zerina could utter another word, both Mari and Jon each grabbed one of her wrists. Zerina then found herself hurling towards the pond. Her arms shot up to protect her face, from what she wasn't sure. When her body hit the pond, she didn't feel anything. She lowered her arms back down to find herself surrounded by the bluish purple color. She brushed her hand through the air. She felt a smooth brush of invisible silk brush over her skin. It was the exact same feeling when she first went through one of the gates so many years ago. "But this isn't possible. All of the gates disappeared. Where did this one come from? And why were Jon and Mari acting so strange? What am I supposed to do now?"

 _"Ace!"_

"Ah!" Zerina grabbed her head. Luffy's pain was stronger now. She gasp for air. With a light shake of her head, she looked back up. "I have to get to Luffy. I can worry about everything else later. Gate of Circinus! Open the door and let me go to Luffy!"

A bright light began to appear in front of Zerina's eyes. When the glow got to bright for her eyes, she closed them. She envisioned herself and Luffy. If this really was a gate back to the real world then she should be able to pass through it without any problems. As the light began to fade from her closed eye lids, she slowly opened her eyes. A huge wave of relief washed over her when she saw the ocean below her through the faint glow of the shield that was now around her body due to passing through the gate. "It worked!"

She released a laugh. It felt good to her. She couldn't remember the last time she had such a good feeling laugh. With a deep breath, she stopped laughing. It was time to get to Luffy. She looked around and quickly felt him on an island that was close by. She pivoted her body in the air and headed for the island. "All right little gate glow around me. Just keep me up in the air until I get to that island."


	3. Luffy

Luffy

Zerina tucked her arms into her sides. Her words to the bizarre glow seemed to understand her desire to reach the island Luffy was on. Her body hurled forward faster than she thought it would. She reached the island in seconds. Her head tilted when she could see the decorations of the village that resided on the island. "Huh? Someone on this island sure has a thing for snakes. Anyway, where's Luffy?"

Zerina ran her eyes over the island. Her attention pulled away from the village when her mind locked onto Luffy's position. "There he is."

She angled her body to head for the forest. While heading in the right direction, a group of men on a near by cliff caught her attention. "Huh? Who are they?"

Suddenly, her body was flying towards them. "Ack! Hey! I didn't want to go to _them_! I wanted to go to _Luffy_! How is it possible you have mind of your own?!"

Her words made no difference. The glow took her to the cliff instead of Luffy. She gasped as the ground started getting bigger before her eyes. "Stop! Ah!"

With what would have been a bone crushing crash for a normal human, Zerina landed on the cliff. Dirt, grass and rocks scattered with her landing. She was on her back with her legs draped against the wall of the hole she just created as the dirt cloud started to fade. Her dress fell over her legs, almost revealing her undergarments. "Ouch. Stupid glow."

"Huh?"

"What the heck was that?"

"Are we under an attack?"

Zerina looked up to see the men, who were on the cliff, had moved over to her and peaked down into her hole. "It's a girl."

"We can see it's a girl."

"Should we attack her?"

"No!" Zerina shouted. She scrambled to get her body into the upright position. Lightly dizzy from her landing, she managed to pull herself out of the hole. She waved her hands frantically at them. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to startle you all! I'm not going to attack you or anything! I really don't know how to fight! Honest!"

"Uh…" The men blinked at her.

She stopped waving her hands. Upon closer inspection of the men, she noticed the entire group wasn't all men. One of them was a woman. A blue hair, obviously scared, woman clinging to a tall, spotted hat man wearing a yellow and black hoodie. Her eyes widened. She looked right at the blue haired girl. "You…You're not human."

The spotted hat man released a growl that startled Zerina. He pulled the blue haired girl farther away from her as the rest of the men put themselves between her and the girl. She rubbed the back of her neck. "Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you all. Ack! I don't have time for this! I need to get to Luffy! Now!"

"Luffy?" One of the men, with a hat that said Penguin, asked. "You know Straw Hat?"

"Yes." Zerina nodded. "That's why I'm here. I _really_ need to see him."

"Well, he is here," Another man, with a greenish and red hat with sunglasses said. He pointed to the forest. "He's just in there, somewhere."

"Yeah!" Zerina nodded. She started to run over to the forest. She waved a thanks at the men. "I already know that! Thanks anyway!"

"Uh, who was that girl?" She heard one of the men asked just before their voices faded away from her.

Her heart pounded as she ran through the unfamiliar jungle. Her hair had come undone from her crash. She kept blowing it out of her face as her dress snagged and ripped on some branch that reached out for her. She didn't care about the dress or the fact she was shredding it. Only one thing was important to her right now.

"Yeah." Her heart slammed hard against her chest when she heard his familiar voice. Her legs jerked her to a stop when a large fish like man around a tree. Riding on the fish's back was the one she was looking for. She swallowed, her throat was dry. "I really want to get back to Sabaody. I want to see my friends as soon as I can."

"Luffy…" Zerina tried to call out for him, but her voice wouldn't corporate correctly. She only managed a raspy whisper of his name.

"I really don't think you should-Hm?" The fish started to speak then paused when he noticed Zerina. She barely noticed that he noticed her. Her eyes were locked onto Luffy. "Who are you? You don't look like an Amazon from the village. You're not an enemy are you? Wait…Why would an enemy come after pirates in a dress? You look like you're about to go to a-"

"Rina!" Luffy suddenly shouted. The fish man looked over his shoulder just as Luffy started moving. The rubber man scrambled up over the fish's shoulder, much to the annoyance of the fish, Luffy ended up stepping on the fish man's head. "Rina!"

"Lalu…" Tears pressed against the back of Zerina's eyes. All the pain she had endure was suddenly gone. No more whip lashes, no more hateful glares, no more working the garden or fields until her hands bled, nothing. Luffy was now right in front of her. She forced her feet to move. She took a couple steps only to trip on a piece of her ripped dress. She stumbled.

"Rina! Rina!" Luffy cried out as she stumbled. She tried to catch herself from hitting the ground. She fell forward just as Luffy's chest appeared and slammed into her. She felt his arms and legs wrap around her in a way she wasn't use to. Her body fell backwards as he kept calling her name out while tears ran wildly down his rubber cheeks. "Rina! Rina! Rina!"

"Oof!" Zerina huffed when her back collided with the ground.

"Rina!" Luffy cried again.

"Uh, Luffy?" Zerina squeaked. Her cheeks were turning blue from Luffy depriving her of oxygen from his hug.

"Rina!" Luffy cried, yet again. "Rina!"

"All right, that's enough, Luffy," The fish man said. Zerina caught a glimpse of the fish's sweat dropping expression when he hovered over them. The fish man grabbed onto Luffy and tried to pull him off her. "Let go. She's going to pass out if she doesn't get air back into her lungs."

"Rina! I won't let go!" Luffy shouted. The fish man tugged on Luffy's body. Zerina felt air returning to her lungs just before Luffy tightened his hold again, slamming his body once again against hers. "No! My Rina! Mine! I won't let go!"

"L-Lu-fy," Zerina squeaked. "-ou don-t ha-e to l-t go. Jus- lo-s-e up. Ca-t br-eef."

"I'm…" Luffy sniffled. She managed to reach him through her squeaks. He loosened his hold on her, but didn't let go. "…dor-ry. I juz so appy to see ou."

Zerina took a deep inhale. Once her lungs were working properly again, she addressed him. "It's okay, Lalu. I'm happy to see you again too."

"I taught Id ne-er see ou again!" Luffy cried, more tears poured out of his eyes like waterfalls.

"Calm down, Luffy." Zerina wiggled her right arm out of his vice grip. Once freed, she placed her hand on his cheek. She finally noticed all the bandages wrapped around his body. "You're hurt. And I felt your pain. You never answered me. What happened to you?"

"Oh, yeah," Luffy said. He pulled back a bit more and looked down at his bandaged chest. "I was in a battle recently. I didn't hear you calling me. I'm sorry. It was…"

"Luffy, what is it? What happened to cause your mind to go blank like that?" Zerina asked.

"Do you remember Ace?" Luffy asked, pain flashed across his eyes.

"Luffy?" The fish man asked.

"It's okay, Jimbei. She's a very good friend of mine," Luffy said.

"He's one of your brothers, right? The one you said had black hair and ate the flame flame fruit?" Zerina asked thoughtfully as she recalled the stories of Luffy's brothers that he use to tell her. "I remember you telling me about him."

"He's…gone," Luffy said. His arms tighter back up on her. "He's dead."

Zerina gasped. "Oh, Luffy, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I couldn't tell what was happening. All I knew was you were in pain but..."

"It's okay." Luffy unwrapped one arm from her. He brushed away his tears before placing his hand on her head. "You didn't know. I'm sorry I worried you so much. I really haven't been in a good state of mind since then. But Jimbei here helped me."

"Thank you," Zerina said when she brought her eyes to Jimbei. The fish man just nodded. She could tell he wasn't quiet sure of what to make of her and Luffy.

"But now I'm a bit concerned about why you're here." Zerina pulled her eyes back over to Luffy when he spoke. "You said you were never coming back. I'm very happy you're back, but still..."

"I know. Things got a little weird and, well, here I am," Zerina spoke carefully. She felt Luffy didn't need to know about what just happened on her home island, at least not right now. He obviously had enough to worry about. She didn't need to burden him. She wasn't going to tell him. She was just glad to be back by his side. That was enough.

"I'm just so glad your here!" Before anyone could say anything else, Luffy leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. Both Zerina and Jimbei's eyes popped open. He broke the kiss only after a few seconds, but her heart and mind were pounding so hard she couldn't formulate a single thought. He pulled her back into a vice like hug. He stared crying again. "I'm just so glad my girlfriend is back!"

"Girlfriend?" Jimbei asked with obvious confusion in his eyes.

"Uh, yeah, he called me that back when we were kids," Zerina explained over Luffy's cries after coming back to her senses by the question. Luffy didn't hear her words through his wails. "He didn't know what the meaning of it was back then and I don't think he understands it now. But I don't mind him calling me that."

"I see." Jimbei nodded. Zerina raised an eyebrow at his 'examining them carefully' expression. His eyes then wondered to her red hair. Realization came into his eyes, but he never said anything about it. Instead, he addressed Luffy. "Luffy, we need to get going."

"Right." Luffy pulled back from Zerina and nodded.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Zerina asked when Jimbei helped Luffy climb back upon his back. "You can barely move."

"I'll be fine." Luffy gave her one of his typical grins.

"He'll be fine once he _rests_ ," Jimbei said. Zerina caught the sharp look the fish man gave him over his shoulder.

"I can rest later!" Luffy grumbled. "I want to get back to Sabaody! Right now!"

"Sabaody?" Zerina asked.

"It's a previous island that me and my crew were on not too long ago. We got separated and are supposed to meet up there," Luffy explained.

"I see," Zerina said. The group of three then started to head back to the cliff. "Is your ship here?"

"No. It's also back on Sabaody," Luffy replied.

"I get the feeling this is going to be a pretty long story," Zerina huffed.

"Yeah," Luffy chuckled lightly. "We haven't actually talked for a while. We have some catching up to do. It so good to see you again, Rina!"

"It's good to see you again too, Lalu." Zerina smiled. She could feel her eyes sparkling when she looked at the raven haired man. "Where's your hat?"

"Oh, um." Luffy reached up and touched his hatless head.

"I believe Trafalgar Law has it right now," Jimbei said.

"Great. For a second, I thought I had lost it," Luffy sighed.

"Trafalgar Law?" Zerina asked, recalling the men on the cliff. "I'm assuming he was one of men standing on the cliff when I landed?"

"You have a ship?" Jimbei asked.

"Uh." Zerina's body flinched. "No, I don't. I kinda came here a different way."

Zerina's heart started to pound in worry when Jimbei opened his mouth to question her farther. Suddenly his mouth snapped closed. His eyes pulled from her and went to Luffy. A small dark aura had engulfed the teenager. Luffy said, "It's complicated. She doesn't have to explain anything."

"It's okay, Lalu. I don't mind," Zerina said. She took a deep breath to calm herself. "My island is a bit different from others. My family didn't really approve of my mother's marriage to my father."

"Ah," Jimbei said with a light nod of his head. "I see. No need to explain farther, little lady."

"You can call me Zerina." Zerina smiled. She was glad he wasn't going to press for more information on her. That's when she remembered how the world treated children of pirates. Her real story was still safe, for now and it actually fit in with the rest of the world's views on pirate children. She dropped her eyes to the ground and wondered how long she was going to be able to keep her truth from people, from Luffy. How much time did she have to be with him again before Angel, or anyone else, noticed she wasn't there anymore?

Zerina looked up at the canopy of the trees. She saw small patched of the sky through the leaves. Questions about what happened back on her island refilled her mind. Were Jon and Mari safe? Are they still at the manor or did they run away? Why didn't they just come with her? If no one knew about that pond gate thingy, they could have just came with her.

"Luffy!" A strange voice broke her from her thoughts.

"Hm? Rayleigh?" Luffy said. The small group of three looked to see a tall old man with glasses smiling back at them. He was shirtless and wet. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see you." Rayleigh smiled. "Huh? Well, there's another familiar face! Zerina!"

"Uh." Zerina tilted her head. She looked the man over again. "Do I know you?"

"Of course you do! I've known you since you were a little baby!" Rayleigh said happily.

"I didn't know you knew The Dark King," Luffy said. She felt both his and Jimbei's eyes on her before she even looked at them. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised since he knows Shanks. Speaking of which, have you seen your dad yet?"

"Uh, no, I just arrived here a few minutes ago," Zerina said to him. She turned her eyes back to Rayleigh. "Sorry, but, I don't remember you."

Rayleigh laughed. "I'm not surprised. You were only three the last time I saw you. But with that red hair and your beautiful eyes, there's no mistaking you. You're definitely Zerina. You've grown up into such beautiful young woman. I bet your father can't wait to see you. You should go see him soon."

"Uh…yeah. Sure." Zerina shrugged. She did want to go see him. She just didn't know when she'd do that. It could complicate things. He knew more than Luffy did.

"For now," Rayleigh then said. "We need to focus on you, Luffy. I gave Shakky my vivre card so I could come here and find my way back with ease."

"Hm?" Luffy tilted his head and blinked. "Oh! Did you see my friends?! Are they back on Sabaody?!"

"I'm afraid not." Rayleigh shook his head.

"You're the Dark King Silvers Rayleigh," Jimbei said. Zerina shifted her weight to her left foot when the fish man looked at her. She raised an eyebrow at him. "I didn't expect to see you here. Let alone know this girl. These are just some strange things going on here lately."

"That's life for ya," Rayleigh said with a shrug. Zerina pulled her eyes back over to him just as he tossed Luffy his straw hat. "This is yours, right?"

"Yeah!" Luffy caught the hat and placed it back on his head. "It didn't feel right without it. Thanks!"

Zerina's eyes wondered over to Luffy. She examined the familiar hat on her friend's head. A small smile formed on her lips. This was the first time seeing him in that hat. She recalled the time he told her that Shanks had given it to him. She tried many times to envision what he looked like with her dad's hat on her head, but never could. She just couldn't see him wearing the hat. But, now that she saw it for her own eyes, it suited him. She mumbled softly to herself, " _Straw Hat_ Luffy. It suits you, Lalu. And you've grown up a lot since the last time I saw you. You're no longer a crybaby."

She jumped when she noticed Luffy smiling at her. Did he hear what she just said? When Luffy turned his eyes back to Rayleigh, she relaxed. He didn't hear her. Or he didn't appear to have.

"Hey, where did those other pirates go?" She then heard Jimbei say.

"Trafalgar already left," Rayleigh said to Jimbei then to Luffy. "He told me you needed two more weeks of rest."

"Who was that girl that was with them?" Zerina asked. "She's…different from the rest of them. I wanted to ask where she was from."

"Hm?" A light shimmered across Rayleigh's glasses. "Don't mine her. She has her own story going on right now."

"Rayleigh!" Another unfamiliar voice suddenly cried out. Zerina turned to find a group of women walking over to them. A couple of them were carrying a barrel of food while a monkey was pulling a cart.

"Gloriosa! It's been a long time!" Rayleigh smiled.

"Yes, it has." The old woman within the group nodded.

"Rayleigh." Zerina remained quiet while the two tallest of the group, a green haired woman and light brown haired woman, started to greet the old man.

"You two have grown up! Such beautiful, strong women you have become!" Rayleigh laughed with delight.

"Luffy!" Zerina pulled her eyes from the group when another woman, with long black haired, began to speak in a shrilling voice. She shifted on her feet again when the two tallest women grumbled to the black haired woman about not paying any attention to the man who saved her life. While Luffy talked to the two tallest women, Zerina kept her eyes locked onto the black haired woman. She was circling her finger on a watermelon and mumbling to herself. "Luffy, I was so worried about you. I could see. I'm sure you are hungry. I brought you some food."

"You can't even look at him and yet you say you are married to him." Zerina dropped her eyes down to the short old woman. She felt her heart tighten at the old woman's words. This black haired woman had a crush on Luffy, her Luffy. Zerina dug her heel into the grass and mentally scolded herself. _Of course she has a crush on him. It was bound to happen some time. If he likes her back then there's nothing I can do about it. He's 'not' my boyfriend anyway._

"Serve him! Right now!" The blacked haired woman shouted while pointed her watermelon finger at one of the monkey. Zerina jumped when the woman turned her dark eyes to the fish man in the group. "Jimbei! You cannot have anything! This food is for Luffy! But I suppose it will be all right for you to go ahead and eat just a _little bit_!"

"Says he can't have any then say's he can in the same breath? She's a brat," Zerina said in conclusion after carefully examining the woman's actions and words.

"Fine," Jimbei said. He turned to Luffy. "Luffy, let us eat now."

"Okay!" Luffy cheered. He walked over to the pile of food and sat down. She watched as Jimbei instructed Luffy to eat. Luffy's stomach grumbled. He placed his hand on his tone abs before digging into the food.

Zerina's eyes locked onto the familiar sight of Luffy stuffing his face. A nostalgic smile formed on her lips. _I guess somethings never change after all. It's actually a comforting thought. I'm glad he's still the same goofy kid I use to know._

"Hey! Zerina!" Zerina jumped when Luffy called for her. "Come eat with me! You're hungry too, right?!"

"Uh." Zerina felt her face grow warm. Of course he would know that. And of course she was. She didn't eat much at dinner last night. Before she could answer him, she found Luffy's arm wrapped around her waist. He pulled her beside him then shoved a piece of meat he was eating into her mouth, giving her no choice but to eat it.

"It's good, huh?" Luffy asked with a huge grin.

"Y-"

"Ah!" Zerina's answer got cut off by a sharp scream.

"Huh? What's the matter, Hancock?" Luffy asked through the food in his mouth.

"Wh-Who is _she_?!" The black haired woman, Hancock, demand while pointing at Zerina with a sharp look in her eyes. "How do you know _her_?!"

"Rina?" Luffy asked. He swallowed his food before continuing. "She's my girlfriend."

"What?!" Everyone, but Rayleigh shouted.

"Yup!" Luffy grinned. "So be nice to her! I don't like it when people are mean to her!"

"Oh! Of course Luffy!" Hancock said with hearts flying around her head. Zerina rolled her eyes when the dark haired woman shot her another glare. "I'll be nice to _her_ , but only for _you_."

"What's wrong with this woman?" Zerina asked herself.

"So you're Luffy's girlfriend?" Rayleigh asked with a light chuckle. "I always got the feeling he was more into adventures than finding a girlfriend."

"Oh, um, no not really," Zerina replied with a shrug. "He called me that when we were kids. He didn't know the meaning of it then and I doubt he knows the meaning of it now. You know how Luffy is."

There was a round of agreements to Luffy's naivety. With nothing else to say, Zerina grabbed herself a banana, peal it then took a bite. Her eyes drifted to the young man beside her. Her heart strummed in her chest again. _When exactly did I start developing such strong feelings for him? How is this even possible considering the distance that separated us?_

"Are you sure you want to go back to Sabaody? After what happened the last time?" Zerina was jolted from her thoughts when she heard Rayleigh speaking again. She looked to see an intense look of fear in Luffy's eyes.

"Luffy?" She asked softly. She felt his fear swirling around inside of her chest. _What happened to you?_ It was starting to scare her. She reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder. His hand automatically went on top of hers. He was trembling so hard. "Luffy…"

He squeezed her hand and gritted his teeth. Zerina could feel Hancock's intense glare at her, but she ignored the ridiculously jealous woman. Rayleigh spoke again. "Do you think you can stand up to a power like that again? As you are right now?"

An intense pause fell over the group. A worried feeling settled into her chest like a thick fog. Rayleigh continued to speak. "I actually came here to offer you a suggestion. You want to get stronger, don't you?"

Zerina had to force herself to pull her eyes off the old man. She looked back over to Luffy. She watched quietly as he took ahold of his hat, with his free hand, and pulled it low over his eyes. Her mind wondered once again what Luffy had been up to when he didn't answer her. She might not have known the answer to that yet, but she knew the answer to the old man's question. Luffy was going to train with him and get stronger. At least this time, she was going to be with him.

…

 **Author's Notes: I apologize for the delay. The first chapter was bugging me. I really didn't like it. So I revamped it to give more information on Zerina's life rather than the vague blah I first had. I'm still working a few things out with the outline, but I should be to the point where I can now post regularly. And, yeah, I went cliche and gave Shanks a daughter. *sigh* Cliches. Anyway, this really won't follow along with One Piece story. I tried to work it into the story, but it just wouldn't work. It'll be Zerina's story with a little bit of One Piece's story line involved. Hope it's fine. Enjoy!**


	4. Back to Marineford

Back to Marineford

"So what exactly is going on?" Zerina asked once Luffy got done talking to Rayleigh and Jimbei about returning to a place called Marineford.

"I'm going back to Marineford," Luffy said.

"The place where your bro-" Zerina flinched when Luffy's eyes saddened. "I'm sorry, Lalu. I didn't mean t-"

Zerina stopped talking when Luffy placed his finger over her lips. She tired to ignore how his action made her heart pound erratically and focus on his words instead. "It's all right, Rina. Yes, it hurts that Ace is gone. Yes, it hurts that I'm willing returning to that island, but I have to go there. I have to get a message out to my crew to meet in two years instead of three days like we planned. It's going to be fine. I'm going to be fine. This is me after all."

Zerina felt unsure, but nodded. Luffy grinned wildly. He added, "I have you with me now. So happiness with return soon."

"Yeah," Zerina said softly once he removed his finger from her lips. He put his arm around her and pulled her to his side. "I guess you're right."

"Ya know," Sandersonia said, "If you're going with Luffy, you're going to need better clothes. A dress like that isn't fit for this endeavor."

"I didn't bring anything else. I kinda left in a hurry," Zerina said looking down at her ripped dress.

"Not a problem," Marigold said with a smile. "We can fix you right up. We have plenty of shops in our village."

"Uh." Zerina shifted uncomfortably. "I'm afraid I don't have any money either."

"Can't you just give her some clothes?" Luffy then asked. "It would make me happy."

Zerina turned to him to protest, but Hancock cut her off. She said, "Of course, Luffy! Whatever you wish! You!"

Hancock pointed at Nyon. "Take her to the village and fit her with clothes!"

"Why me?!" Nyon shouted.

"It's fine. Just tell me where I should go. I'm sure I can find it," Zerina said.

"We can show you," Sandersonia said with a smile.

"I don't want to be any trouble." Zerina shifted uncomfortably again. She wasn't use to receiving charity from anyone. Back on Hydra, getting something only met the person giving her something just wanting something from her. It was never a good thing.

"Don't worry about it, Rina. They don't mine." Zerina pulled her eyes back over to Luffy's. He was smiling brightly at her. Her heart raced again. "You're my girlfriend."

Instantly, Zerina felt Hancock's glare without even looking at the blacked haired woman. She sighed. "All right. If it's really not any trouble."

"It's not," Sandersonia insisted. "Let's go."

"I'm going to head for the ship with Jimbei and Rayleigh," Luffy told Zerina. "Come there when your finished."

"Right." Zerina nodded. She then stood up and followed after the women, not noticing that Luffy's eyes remained on her until she was out of his sight. Zerina's eyes widened when she took in the village. "Wow! You all sure have a thing for snakes."

"I guess so." Sandersonia shrugged.

"Where are all the men?" Zerina asked when she noticed she was seeing nothing but women.

"With the exception of Luffy, no man is allowed on our island," Marigold explained.

"I didn't know there was an all female island," Zerina muttered.

"You've never heard of Amazon Lily?" Sandersonia asked.

"No, I'm-uh-I've kinda been sheltered my entire life." Zerina rubbed the back of her neck. She wished she didn't say anything.

"Over protective parents, huh?" Marigold questioned.

"Something like that." Zerina shrugged.

"So where are you from?" Sandersonia asked.

"Hydra," Zerina replied carefully.

"Never heard of that island before," Sandersonia said. The woman then chuckled. "I guess we're even then since you've never heard of our island."

"I guess so." Zerina shrugged but smiled. She noticed she actually like these two women. They somehow put her at ease. Her smile quickly faded when they led her into one of the shops. It suddenly became clear to her that all of the women on this island were also wearing revealing clothes. Clothing that would reveal the scar on her back. She was going to have to come up with a solution to this problem, quick.

"Go ahead and pick out some outfits. Take as many as you'd like," Marigold said while pointing to the clothes.

"Okay," Zerina mumbled. As she filtered through the clothes, she had to force herself to not complete pick out all of the longer, more shirt like style clothes. Once she had picked out six outfits, three of them bikini styled, she stepped into the changing station.

"How's it going in there?" Sandersonia's voice asked her a few minutes later. "Do the clothes fit you fine?"

Zerina bit her lip before answering. _Yes, the clothes fit just fine. They just don't cover up my scar like I need them too._ She wanted to say just that. But she couldn't. So she pealed back the current a bit and looked at them. "Sorry. They're fine, but, um, I'm really not feeling very comfortable in such revealing clothes. My style is more conservative."

"I'm sorry," Sandersonia said with an apologetic smile.

"It's no problem. If you have a sewing kit I could borrow, I can fix it right now," Zerina said. Marigold waved her hand at another woman who was minding the shop. The other woman walked over to her with a small sewing kit. She took it from her. "Thank you."

Zerina pulled the curtain closed before quickly settling in to fixing one of the outfits that she had. She grabbed her ripped dress and cut a piece off to use to cover her back. Ten minutes later the maroon bikini top was fixed. It looked a bit weird, but at least the white of the dress didn't clash with the maroon. She put it on and the bottoms. She glanced into the mirror in the room with her. The back part was now longer and fell down to her hips. It should keep her scar covered. As long as she didn't end up hanging upside at some point.

She decided this would have to do for now. She'd fix the others later. She gathered up the remaining outfits, including the rest of her ripped dress and stepped out of the dressing room. "Would it be all right if I kept a needle and some of the thread? I don't have time to fix all of these right now."

"You can just take it with you," Marigold answered.

"I'm sorry. I feel like I'm taking so much from you all. I really should pay you for all of this." Zerina lowered her eyes. She looked back up with a hand placed itself on her shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. It's just clothes. And you need them." Sandersonia smiled sweetly at her. "We're glad to do this for you. Luffy's a good friend to yours, right? And if you're his friend then you're our friend too."

"He is. Thank you." Zerina nodded.

"You should probably take a quick bath before heading to the ship," Marigold said.

"Uh." Zerina looked down at herself. She had gotten quite a bit dirty during her fall and run through the forest. "I guess I have enough time to at least wash off this dirt off. And the makeup too. It's really annoying me."

"Just follow us then," Marigold said. Zerina nodded. She placed her clothes into a bag that Sandersonia was holding out before taking the bag and following after the sisters again. They led her to the stream that they used as a bath. Zerina sat the bag down and quickly washed off the dirty and makeup. "That was fast."

"I don't want to make Luffy and the others wait too long." Zerina picked up the bag. She looked at the two sisters. "Thank you so much. I really appreciate this. And I will return the favor one day."

"That's not necessary." Marigold waved her hand. "Let's just get you back to Luffy now. I'm sure they're ready to leave any minute."

"Right." Zerina nodded. She could worry about paying them back later.

…

"Rina!" Zerina looked up when Luffy called her name. He was standing on the ship waving to her. She raced up onto the ship. Before she could say anything, she noticed Luffy's eyes turn sharp with anger. "What?! Happened?!"

"Huh?" Zerina blinked in confusion. She almost back away from him as he approached her. She held back a flinch when he reached up and grabbed her chin. She expected his grip to be hard, but it was surprisingly gentle despite the hard look in his eyes and the dangerous aura he was emitting. She didn't resist him as he turned her head.

"Who hurt you?!" Luffy demanded.

It took another minute for her brain to register he was talking about the cut on her cheek. "Oh! No, no! It's nothing like that, Luffy! I, uh, just cut myself in the garden back home before I came here!"

"Really?" Luffy's eyes soften a bit. He pulled his eyes from the cut and looked into her eyes, making her twitch from lying to him.

"Yes." Zerina nodded. An extreme amount of guilt hit her for the lie. "I'm a bit of a klutz. I got too close to a rose bush. A thorn caught on my cheek. It's no big deal. It really doesn't hurt anymore."

"Okay!" Luffy sang happily, naively, so accepting of her words. More guilt hit her when he accepted her lie so easily. "Let's get going then!"

Zerina shifted on her feet as she watched Luffy walked away from her. She jumped when she noticed Rayleigh starting at her intently. Before she could do anything, the old man turned away from her and walked away. _Does he know that I just lied to Luffy? No. There's no way he could have known. He might have known me when I was a kid, but he doesn't know me now. There's no way he could possible know I lied. It's just my imagination running away from me._

"So, uh, how exactly, or, um, what exact are we doing?" Zerina asked, shaking off the feeling of lying to Luffy and the feeling that Rayleigh knew it. "Who's ship is this anyway? It doesn't match the decor of the village, so…?"

"It's actually a Navy ship," Jimbei answered.

"A Navy ship?" Zerina raised an eyebrow. That's when she noticed all of the statues on the deck. She tilted her head and inspected them carefully. She noticed they all were carved in odd positions. "Who made those statues? The ones back home are more, um, delicately carved."

"There's aren't carved statues," Hancock said. She flicked her finger on one of the statues. "These are soldiers. I frozen them in stone when I took over this ship to follow after Luffy after the battle at Marineford."

"Frozen them in stone?" Zerina blinked. "And a stolen ship?"

"You really have led a sheltered life," Sandersonia said.

"Yeah." Zerina nodded. "My island doesn't get news from the world. I think I'm going to need a serious explanation to what has actually been happening."

"Not a problem." Zerina brought her eyes back to Luffy when he walked back over to her. Her hear skipped a beat when he took her hand and started pulling her farther into the ship. "I can explain it now. We have a little while before we reach Marineford anyway."

"Luffy," Rayleigh called. Zerina lifted her eyes to him at the same time Luffy did. "Jimbei and I will handle sailing the ship there. It's okay for you to catch up with Zerina, but you need to rest too. Go on inside and lay down now."

"Right." Luffy nodded. "Come on, Rina."

"Make sure he lays down, Zerina," Rayleigh ordered.

"Sure," Zerina replied, even thought she wasn't sure Luffy would actually listen to her even if she did tell him to lay down.

"Let's go!" Luffy cried. Zerina followed after Luffy without another word. He lead her into a living room like space inside of the ship. There were two couches, a couple coffee tables, a few pots with plants that looked like they hadn't been watered in a while.

"This is actually kind of nice," Zerina commented.

"Wait until you see the Sunny!" Luffy said proudly.

"The Sunny? That's you're ship, right?" Zerina asked, recalling Luffy telling her about the ship. "I don't think I remember everything you've told me about it."

"I can tell you again," Luffy said.

"Later, Luffy. You need to rest right now like Rayleigh said," Zerina said with a sigh. She got the feeling Luffy wasn't going to mature about this.

"Aw, I'm gonna rest. But I don't have to be silent about it. Come on!" Before she could protest, Luffy pulled her over to one of the couches. He all but shoved her down on the couch then laid down, placing his head on her lap.

"Uh, Luffy?" Zerina blinked. She could feel the heat rising on her cheeks.

Luffy grinned so cutely at her. "I haven't done this in years. Remember?"

She didn't remember at first, but soon did. Luffy had used her lap as a pillow a couple times when they were kids. The first two times it happened was just an accident. Luffy had fallen asleep and just fell over on her. The rest of the times, Zerina couldn't recall how many it was, Luffy did it on purpose. The corners of her lips twitched into a light smile. "I do remember, Lalu."

"Good," Luffy said before promptly taking off his hat and placing it on her head. The two then settled into the distant, but familiar, feeling of each other as Luffy started to tell her about his recent, fun and painful, adventures.

"Wow," Zerina said softly after Luffy stopped talking. Tears pressed against her eyes. "I knew you were having trouble, but hearing it like this…I finally see how much danger you really were in. Even though it's over, I feel scared."

"Don't cry, Rina." Zerina jumped a bit when Luffy placed his finger tips to the corner of her eye. She looked down into his pure, child like eyes. "It's okay. I'm okay. I'm right here."

"Yeah, I know." She nodded.

"I'm really glad you're here, Zerina." Her hear skipped a few more beats when Luffy said her full name. He only did this when he was being serious and really needed her to know that.

A couple tears leaked over her eyelids. She pressed her hand to Luffy's. "I know, Lalu. I'm really glad I'm here too. I've really missed you."

"I've really missed you too," Luffy said. There was a few seconds of silences before he added, "Can you stay forever? I'm mean, you don't have to leave anytime soon, right?"

Zerina flinched. This wonderful moment of just being with her best friend was completely shattered with the fears of being discovered missing back on Hydra. Her eyebrows turned up in worry. "Rina? What is it? You're not leaving soon, are you?!"

"No, Luffy," Zerina said softly. She tighter her hold on his hand while placing her right hand on his hair, stroking it gently. "I'm not going anywhere just yet. I'm going to stay with you."

"Great! I'm glad you're a part of my crew now!" Luffy laughed happily.

"Part of your crew?! Wait a minute, Luffy! I'm not a pirate or a fighter! I never said that…" Zerina let her voice fade off when Luffy instantly fell asleep despite her still speaking to him. She sighed heavily. "Yup. You're still the same goofy kid I knew who always got what he wanted no matter what anyone else said. Well, at least your resting now. We can discuss this pirate thing later."

Zerina sighed again, contently this time. She leaned back into the couch. She flinched lightly at the pain the cushion caused her injured back, but quickly adjusted to it. She let her fingers dance a couple more times in Luffy's hair before closing her eyes.

…

"Why exactly am I writing three D and two Y on your arm with the three D crossed out again?" Zerina asked as she drug the marker over Luffy's arm. She tossed a look at all of the marines they had tied up. It felt weird doing that.

"The crossed out three D is meant to represent the three days my crew promised to meet up on. The two Y is, hopefully, going to tell them we're meeting in two years," Luffy explained.

"And you're sure they're all going to understand this? It's not to vague?" Zerina asked, concerned. She then went over everything Luffy has told her about his crew. "Let's see…If I remember them correctly there's Cat Burglar Nami, the navigator, lover of oranges, bounty 16,000,000, smart enough to figure it out. Sniper King Usopp, cowered but reliable, designed Straw Hat pirates jolly roger, bounty 30,000,000, smart enough to figure it out. Blackleg Sanji, the cook, incurable flirt with constant nosebleeds when sees beautiful women, bounty 77,000,000, smart enough to figure it out."

"Tony Tony Chopper, crew's doctor mistaken as a pet, devil fruit user, bounty 50, smart enough to figure it out. Demon Child Nico Robin, archeologist, devil fruit user, bounty 80,000,000, definitely smart enough to figure it out. Cyborg Franky, built The Thousand Sunny, shipwright, bounty 44,000,000, smart enough to figure it out. Soul King Brook, devil fruit user, skeleton, musician, bounty 33,000,000, smart enough to figure it out…And then there's Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro, swordsman, constantly and hopelessly gets lost at every turn, bounty 120,000,000…Are you sure he's going to be able to understand the message?"

"Hey!" Luffy cheered. "You remember my crew!"

"Yeah, I guess." Zerina shrugged. "Only because you've talked about them so much."

"They'll all be fine, including Zoro. You'll see! In two years you'll finally get to meet them all! I can't wait to see them! And to introduce you to them! They're gonna love you!"

"Two years, huh?" Zerina mumbled. She let her eyes drop from Luffy's arm. _I don't even know if I'm still going to be here in two days let alone two years. Maybe I should just tell Luffy about what happened? But what good with that do? I'm not even sure what happened. And Luffy does have a lot to deal with right now. I shouldn't bother him with this. Maybe Mari really did have a plan. Maybe they won't even know I'm gone._ Zerina sighed. She lifted her eyes to find Luffy staring at her. At her body. And she wasn't quite sure, but she thought she saw red spots on his cheeks before he turned away from her.

"Luffy, we're almost there!" Rayleigh called out.

"Right!" Luffy nodded. "Come on, Rina."

"Are you sure you want me to come with you? I'm mean, this is the place you just waged war against. Won't the soldiers be angry to see you there again?" Zerina asked as Luffy pulled her to the edge of the ship.

"Don't worry about it. Most of the soldiers won't even be there," Jimbei answered.

"Besides, I want you with me," Luffy said as he jumped upon the railing of the ship.

"I'm not a fighter though," Zerina pointed out. She barely registered Luffy's arm wrapping around her waist. "I won't be able to help you."

"We're not really going to fight anyway," Luffy said. Zerina gasped lightly when Luffy pulled her to his side. She wrapped her arms around his neck to stabilize herself on the rail. "I'll protect you if we do get attacked by soldiers. Plus, will have Jimbei and Rayleigh with us. They'll protect you too."

"I suppose your right," Zerina said. Once she felt stable on her feet, she raised her eyes to Luffy's.

"I know he's right!" Rayleigh then laughed. "I surely can't let Shanks' daughter get hurt in a place like this! He'd kill me!"

"He was very protective of you back when we were kids!" Luffy laughed as well. "He's probably the exact same now! You really should go see him sometime soon!"

"I might. But I'm going to stick with you a while first. I can always go see him later," Zerina said. She bit her lip. She wanted to see her dad, but not right now. She wasn't sure what she would say to him. Besides, she had a feeling he already knew she was back down here, off Hydra. Even if he didn't, he would know soon enough. Surely there were reports running around at Marineford taking pictures to report on the damage that the war had caused. And Luffy was purposefully going to put himself in those pictures. And she was going to be with him.

Nerves wracked her chest. If nothing happened between now and then, she was going to meet Luffy's crew in just two years. She wondered how they would act around her. Would they like her? Would they hate her? How much has Luffy told them about her? Luffy knew about her wish granting abilities, but did he reveal that to them or did he keep it a secret?

"Time to go!" Luffy's voice suddenly broke into her thoughts. She barely looked up before he pulled himself, her, Jimbei and Rayleigh onto the island.

"Ah!" She screamed and wrapped her arms around Luffy's neck. She felt his chest vibrating with a chuckle.

"Don't worry, Rina," He whispered to her, tickling her ear with his breath. "I will never let anything happen to you."

"Lu-" She froze when she felt Luffy's lips on her temple. All she could do in response was nod against his neck. She trusted him. She always has.

"Go ahead, Luffy," She then heard Rayleigh say. "Tear it up!"

"Right!" Luffy nodded. Zerina found his hand in hers once again just before he pulled her farther onto the island. He only released her hand when he needed to attack then would quickly reclaim it again. "Gum Gum Whip!"

Zerina glanced around as Luffy drug her through the rumble of Marineford. She couldn't believe how much damage had been done. But then, she's never seen a war or the aftermath of one. And, from all the damage that had been done, this 'War of the Best' was some intense battle. She suddenly found it hard to breath. She finally realized how much danger Luffy was really in. And how close she had come to almost losing him. She tightened her hold on his hand. When she did this, Luffy glanced back at her. She figured she must have had a worried look on her face or something when Luffy brushed his thumb over her skin and winked at her. She felt better. Those two, no matter how small, actions reminded her that he was still alive. He was still with her.

"Finally here," Luffy said once he jumped them up to the Ox Bell. She waited patiently as he walked away from her and rang the bell the sixteen times. While he did this, Zerina looked down at the gathered crowd. Like she had thought, a lot of them held cameras. But they all held confused expressions as they watched Luffy ring the bell. She pulled her eyes back to Luffy when his arm returned around her waist. "Let's go."

"Right." She slipped her arms back around his neck just before he jumped them down from the bell. He reclaimed her hand and took of running again.

"Stop right there!" A soldier cried out.

"Luffy!" Zerina gasped when she noticed the soldier was pointed a gun at them. She cast a panic glance at Luffy. She found he was just glaring harshly at the soldier. It confused her to find the soldier responded to the glare and froze.

She remained quiet after that. She just ran along with Luffy and stopped with him when he stopped at the largest crack in the ground. He released her hand for a second to pull out a small bouquet of flowers he had with him. He dropped it into the hole, reclaimed her hand, then removed his hat from his head. She followed his lead and closed her eyes. She listened to the sounds of the reports footsteps racing across the other side of the crackle then to the multiple sounds of shutters clicks from their cameras before Luffy rushed her back to the ship.

"Well, that was interesting," Zerina said.

"At least this parts over," Rayleigh said with a slightly mischievous smile. Zerina looked at him questioningly. "Now we can head for the island you two are going to be training on."

"What?!" Luffy shouted happily. "Rina's gonna train with me too?! Yeah!"

"Wait a minute!" Zerina gasped in shock, and a bit of fear. "I'm _not_ a fighter! I don't know anything about it!"

"That's why you're going to train," Rayleigh said as if her concerns were no big deal. "With the blood of Shanks running through you, it's guaranteed you're going to be a wonderful fighter."

"You have got to be kidding. Just because my father ended up being an emperor doesn't mean I'm meant to do the same. I'm not gifted! In fact I'm…" Zerina's voice trailed off. _…I'm not gifted. My magic doesn't work like it should. I'm a defect. I'm imperfect. I'm not worthy._

"Come on, Rina! You have to train with me!" Luffy's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She looked to find he had already taken her hands in his and was giving her a heart pounding, stomach twirling, soul soaring, puppy dog pout with his big, beautiful black eyes. The exact same look he use to give her when they were kids. Yup. The exact same Luffy as always.

"But, Luffy," Zerina whispered, dropping her eyes from his, "You know about my…issues. How can I?"

"How can you not?" When Luffy said that she raised her eyes to his. She stiffened lightly when he wrapped her arms around her. He whispered, "Maybe this training can help you with that? Don't you want that to happen?"

"Lalu." Zerina wrapped her arms around his waist. "I want to. I want to get better control over this, but I don't know how. Physical training won't effect my magic."

"You don't know that. No harm in trying, right? And I won't make any wishes while you're a round. Well, I'll make meat wishes. Those never turned bad, right?" Zerina nodded slightly. She had forgotten about that. For some reason, Luffy's wishes for meat never did end with bad results. She never could figure out why. She never has anyone to ask why, but for Mari. But the woman never knew either. "Please, train with me."

Zerina continued starting into Luffy's pleading eyes. She didn't want to do this. But what harm would it do? It clearly was going to make Luffy's happy. She sighed. "All right, Lalu. I'll train with you."

…

 **Author's Notes: Hi everyone! I agree about redoing that first chapter. Definitely the right choice. I've a better handle on the story now too. And, yeah, I couldn't help but giving Neo a cameo appearance. It was screaming "Do it! Do it!" So I did! ^.^ Hee hee**


	5. Training

Training

Zerina blinked in confusion at all the Amazon women poking and pulling on Luffy's rubber skin. She was sitting off by herself working on her own Amazon outfits. She wasn't sure what they were going to be doing when they reached the island they were going to be training on. This might be the only chance she had to alter them. But she kept getting distracted by how weird the other women on the ship were being.

"They're just naive when it comes to men since only women are allowed on Amazon Lily," Rayleigh said. She jumped when he spoke to her. "They think all men are rubber like Luffy. They don't even know of the existence of devil fruits."

"Oh." Zerina nodded. "Make sense. I guess."

"You're really good at sew, aren't you?" Rayleigh asked. His eyes were running over the altered blue bikini top she was wearing and the red one she was currently altering.

"Oh, well, I guess so." Zerina shrugged. "I did it a lot back on Hydra."

"It is a good skill to have. It comes in handy," Rayleigh said with a chuckle.

"I suppose it does. It's coming in pretty handy right now," Zerina said. She held up the top she was working on. She finally got it finished. It was the last one she was working on. "I'm done now."

"That's good. We'll be reaching Rusukaina shortly," Rayleigh said as he leaned back and crossed his arms.

"Rusukaina?" Zerina turned her eyes to him and blinked.

"It's where we're going to train. It's a harsh island, but don't worry, you'll be safe with me and Luffy by your side." Rayleigh winked at her. "I won't let anything happen to Shanks' daughter. And neither will Luffy."

A couple hours later, the Kuja ship docked at the island of Rusukaina. They all filed out onto the deck before descending to the island itself. Rayleigh looked over the island before turning back to Luffy and Zerina. He said, "Well, this is it. Our humble home for the next two years. This is Rusukaina. An island that has forty eight seasons a year."

"Forty eight?!" Zerina gasped. "How is that possible?!"

"The seasons change weekly on this island," Rayleigh explained. "It's a very harsh, unpredictable place."

"You have got to be kidding me," Zerina grumbled. She scanned her eyes over the island before her. Suddenly, she really didn't want to be here. So many dangers seemed to be lurking around all the rocks, trees, bushes, in all of the shadows and the far off places she couldn't see. "What in the world have I gotten myself into?"

Luffy walked up beside her and took her hand. She looked at him. He gave her his trademark grin. He said, "Don't worry, Rina. I'm right here. We'll get through this together."

Zerina returned his smile and closed her fingers around his. It was a comfort knowing he was beside her, but she still felt unsure about all of this. She was so unsure about everything. Once again Zerina could feel Hancock's harsh glare at her back. She sighed. _That woman just doesn't get it. Luffy and I are only friends._

"Luffy!" Hancock wailed. Hearts were dancing around her as she prattled on about bring him food to eat. "Have no fear! I will bring you food weekly! You will not starve while on this island! I'm here for you, my darling!"

"Huh? You will?" Luffy drooled. "And meat? All kinds of meat? I want meat!"

"Of course, Luffy!" Hancock sang. She suddenly started to back peddle away from Luffy. "I'll bring you whatever your heart desires!"

Zerina sweat dropped as she watched the retreating woman. _What's wrong with her? She can't even address Luffy without moving away from him? And she honestly thinks she's in love with him? She's insane! Delusional! She's clearly not in love with Luffy. She's just infatuated. But then…what do I know about love? She might actually be in love with him. Maybe I'm the one who's not in love with him. After all, I've never actual seen anyone who's in love. No one back on Hydra seemed to be…_

"Absolutely not!" Rayleigh said, pulling Zerina out of her thoughts. "No women, but for the exception of Zerina, are going to be allowed on this island while we're training. Luffy doesn't need any distractions of any kind."

"But _she_ is a distraction! She's a woman too!" Hancock hissed while pointing her finger accusingly at Zerina.

"She's going to be training right along side of us," Rayleigh pointed out. "She won't be trying to stuff Luffy full of food. Nor will she be gushing over him like a giddy little girl with a silly little crush. We'll be living off the land from now on."

Zerina felt her face grow warm when Rayleigh tossed her a knowing grin. Hancock growled. She pinched Rayleigh's cheek. "How dare you speak to me like that?! I should turn you to stone right this very second!"

"You are not going to be allowed to spoil him," Rayleigh said, ignoring the dark haired woman's threat. "Now go on and get out of here. We have to get to work."

"Fine!" Hancock huffed. She turned away from the old man. Her rough demeanor turned soft and sickeningly flirty again when she saw Luffy. "Don't worry, Luffy. I am cheering for you. I will see you again in two years."

"Right." Luffy nodded. "Thanks again for all you have done."

"Goodbye, Luffy!" The rest of the Amazon Lily women cheered as they waved goodbye to Luffy and trekked back onto their ship.

"Bye!" Luffy waved back.

"Luffy, Zerina, let's get going now," Rayleigh called to them. "We have a lot of work to do."

"Right!" Zerina and Luffy called back. They rushed to catch up to him.

While walking alone, Zerina noticed a very strange looking tree. She pointed to it and asked, "What's that?"

"That is the only safe place on this entire island," Rayleigh said. "You both are going to find that there are five hundred wild and very strong animals on this island. Zerina, I don't expect you to fight them head on. You'll be leaving that part up to Luffy. There's no possible way you'll be able to face up to them within the small window of two years of training. Do you understand me? Your training is going to be a lot more easy than Luffy's is going to be."

"Right." Zerina nodded. She wasn't a fighter after all. It made sense that she was starting at the bottom. Luffy's had years of training. She was fine with letting him handle the animals.

"Luffy, part of your training is going to be to protect Zerina from the harsh elements and animals here," Rayleigh continued. "Right now, these animals are beyond your current level of abilities. You're going to have to train really hard to protect her."

"Of course!" Luffy grinned. "I wouldn't expect anything else! I'm here to train to protect my friends after all! And Zerina is my girlfriend! That makes her even more important!"

Zerina felt her face flush again. Rayleigh laughed out loud. "Very good then! Let's proceed. First lesson of training is on Haki."

"Haki?" Zerina asked. "What's that?"

"Haki is not really that different from the normal senses. However, most people do not notice it or fail to awaken it at all. In simple terms, Haki is an ability to sense spiritual energy, use life force and overpower enemies," Rayleigh explained.

Zerina and Luffy gasped when a very large elephant came tearing out of the jungle. Luffy immediately put himself between the creature and Zerina. He then called out to Rayleigh who seemed unaware of the attacking animal. He shouted, "Hey! Old man, look out! There a giant elephant about to attack you!"

Rayleigh didn't seem to hear Luffy. Luffy then jumped in to defend Rayleigh. He pulled back his rubbery fist and slammed it down on the elephant. But Luffy just bounced off of it. He hit the ground. Jumping back up, he shouted, "Hey! Look out!"

"Haki is separated into three different categories, Observation Haki grants users a sixth sense of the world around them and limited precognitive abilities," Rayleigh continued to explain. He then demonstrated the use of Observation Haki. The elephant swung its trunk at Rayleigh multiple times. Luffy and Zerina stared in disbelief. Rayleigh was easily dodging the attacks from the elephant with ease.

"That's not possible," Zerina whispered. The hold on the bag in her hand loosened. It fell to the ground without her even noticing it.

"Armament Haki allows the user to use their spirit as armor to defend against attacks or to make their own attacks more potent. This can even be used against you, Luffy, even though you are made of rubber," Rayleigh continued to explained and give them visual examples of the Haki he possessed. In no time at all, he defeated the large behemoth. "And then there's Conqueror's Haki. This is a rare type of Haki only one in a million can use which grants the user the ability to overpower the will of others. Most people who can use Haki tend to have a type they are better at and as a result end up focusing on that one type. But a person can improve their abilities with all the types of Haki, it just requires more work if they choose to do that way. Therefore, at least two types of Haki can be used simultaneously."

Rayleigh paused to look at them. He smirked at the stunned expressions they held before continuing. He said, "Luffy, you have already awakened your Haki. You used Conqueror's when you were trying to rescue Ace. But I do not want you to use this until you can control it better. If you use it before you are ready, you will end up hurting Zerina by accident."

Luffy's eyes widened in shock. He then narrowed his eyebrows and clenched his fists tight. "I won't use it then. I won't hurt her, even by accident."

"Good." Rayleigh nodded. He then turned his attention to Zerina. "You, my child, have Haki too. And I'm going to help you awaken it here during your training."

"Me?!" Zerina pointed to herself. "But I don't have that!"

"Of course you we. Everyone does." Rayleigh smiled at her. "It just needs to be awakened. If I were to guess, I'd say you'd either have Observation Haki or Armament Haki, possible even both. We'll know soon enough. For now, I just want to work on strengthening your body. Your Haki will come out within time."

"Good for you, Rina!" Luffy threw his arms around her neck. He rubbed his cheek on hers. "I'm so glad you'll be able to use Haki as well! I won't have to worry about you as much, even though I'll worry anyway."

"I guess this is a good thing," Zerina said. She mindlessly patted Luffy's arm. Her entire body felt numb. She really had no idea what to think of all of this. It really was far to much to taken in all at once.

"Now that we have all the important explanations out of the way, let get started on training," Rayleigh said. He turned to walk farther inland, but stopped when Luffy called out.

"Wait a second! I've got to take care of something first!" Luffy said before running of in the direction they first came from.

"Hey, Luffy! Where you going?!" Zerina asked. She reclaimed her dropped, almost forgotten, bag before she followed after him. He was back at the weird tree when she caught up to him. She paused to watch him take off his hat before walking up to him. "Luffy?"

Luffy continued starting down at the straw hat in his hands. He sighed before saying, "I think it's best if I leave this here. I want it to be protected while we train."

He laid the hat on a rock. Zerina looked at the familiar straw hat before slowly pulling her eyes back to Luffy. She asked, "Are you sure, Luffy? This hat really means a lot to you. You're just going to leave it here? What if someone tries to steal it?"

"That won't happen. No one will be coming to this island," Luffy said. He pulled out a small piece of white paper. Zerina blinked at the paper but didn't question it. She watched quietly as Luffy tucked the paper into the band around the hat. "It'll be safe here. It's just time for the pirate Straw Hat Luffy to take a break. We'll come back for it once we're done with our training."

"I suppose I should leave there here too." Zerina looked at the bag in her hand. "I probably won't be able to carry them everywhere I go anyway."

Zerina debated on that idea for a minute before deciding it was probably for the best to leave her spare clothes where she knew they would be safe. She could always come back for them when she needed them. So she sat them down behind one of the rocks. With a sigh, she started to turn back to Luffy.

"Luffy, are yo-" Zerina stopped talking when Luffy's arms wrapped around her.

"Everything will be all right." Luffy then pulled back from her. He gave her a toothy grin and chuckled. "Let's get to it now! We have a lot of work to do!"

"Ugh!" Zerina scoffed as Luffy grabbed her hand and pulled her back towards Rayleigh. "How is it possible you can always be so happy?! You're so childlike!"

Luffy just laughed as he continued to pull her back to Rayleigh. Zerina couldn't help but smile. Luffy's laugh was cute. He was cute. Everything was going to be fine. She was going to be fine as long as she was with him.

"Zerina, I want you to do three hundred pushups, three hundred squats and five hundred stomach crunches," Rayleigh ordered with a grin that boarded on sadistic.

"Huh?! Why so many?!" Zerina demanded once the shock wore off.

"Because I am your teacher now. You must do what I say," Rayleigh said with a laugh. "If you question me again I'll add more pushups, squats and crunches. Now get to it."

"Fine," Zerina huffed.

"You can do it, Rina!" Luffy cheered.

"Yeah, yeah," Zerina grumbled. She dropped to the ground after deciding to get the pushups over with first.

"All right, let's get started with you now, Luffy," Rayleigh said to the rubber man. Luffy nodded in anticipation. Rayleigh started talking to Luffy about what he was expected to do on this first day of training.

…

Zerina laughed as she ran through the forest. She was being chased by one of the animals Luffy has come to make friends with within just months on being on the island. It was a tiger. Somewhere along with way of her training, the tiger targeted Zerina when she was gathering water to drink. She easily sensed the creature watching her. When the creature attacked, she dodged it with no problems. But just a few months of training she wasn't any match for the animal.

She knew that. So she just ran from it until Luffy came to her rescue. He punched the tiger, easily knocking it out. When it came to, Luffy threatened the creature to never try and kill Zerina again. If the animal did, Luffy would kill it and turn it into a fur coat for Zerina to keep warm on the cold winter days and nights. The creature immediately bowed to Luffy's strength over it. Then once the animal became submissive, it became a training partner for Zerina. It was to chase her while she was to try and get away from it.

Zerina's bare, worn from training feet, thumped against the forest floor as she ran. She bent her knees and propelled herself up to a tree branch. She grabbed it. She swung herself upon the branch. Laughing, she looked down at the tiger. It was staring up at her in disbelief. She adjusted the bo staff on her back that she had come to carry with her over the months and said, "What? Didn't expect me to be so strong and limber now? Well, get use to it, kitty. I'm actually getting stronger now. And I'll keep getting stronger. Rayleigh's training is working. Come on, now. Let's keep going."

The tiger growled at her in response. She laughed again before jumping down from the tree. She took off with the tiger chasing after her. As she ran, she jumped of rocks, branches, fallen logs and swung from dangling vines. She looked back to see the tiger was still as close as ever. While she was improving with her training, she still had a long ways to go.

She turned her eyes back in front of her, but not quick enough. Her foot caught on a rock. She stumbled and fell forward. It also caught her training partner off guard. The tiger, unable to disobey its natural instincts, pounced on Zerina. She whipped around to face it with a gasp on her lips. Reacting automatically to her training, her hand grabbed the bo staff. And, unknowingly, she infused the staff with her awakening Armament Haki. She slammed the staff on the tiger's head. She pushed the tiger down to the ground and even cracked the forest floor.

Zerina paused. Her eyes blinking rapidly in disbelief. She suddenly shrieked at what she had done. "Eek! I am so sorry! Are you all right?!"

She picked herself up and kneeled beside the tiger. She placed her hand on the tiger's fur. "Hey! Speak to me! Are you all right?! What am I saying?! Of course you're not all right! I knocked you out! And what was I thinking?! You can't speak!"

"Hey, Rina!" Luffy called out as he and Rayleigh ran over to her. Luffy screeched to a stopped before dropping to his knees beside her. "What happened?! You're not hurt are you?"

"No, Luffy, I'm not hurt. But I, uh…" Zerina turned her eyes back to the tiger.

"Hm," Rayleigh hummed as he examined the situation before him. "You awakened your Haki, haven't you?"

"I'm not sure," Zerina replied.

"Oh, you definitely awakened your Haki," Rayleigh said while still examining the scene before him. His eyes then landed on the blacked bo staff by her side. "That's why your staff is now black. Very good job, Zerina."

Zerina lifted the bo staff and examined it. Luffy chuckled. With a pat on her shoulder, he said, "Good job, Rina! You now have Haki! I'm proud of you!"

"But I…I actually did it?" Zerina blinked in disbelief as she continued to stare at her staff.

"You sure did," Rayleigh said. He then removed something he had hanging on his shoulder. It clanked together when it hit the ground beside Zerina.

"What's this? A bow and arrows?" Zerina asked as she inspected the bow and arrows that now were laying beside her. "Did you make these?"

"I did. They're the next step in your training now that you've awakened your Haki," Rayleigh said. "You're keeping the bo staff. I just want you to also be trained in long ranged weapon fighting as well as close range combat."

"I guess that makes sense." Zerina nodded. She picked up the bow and arrows then placed them on her back with the bo staff.

"It's getting late. We should call it a day for now. I bet you both are quiet hungry," Rayleigh said as he started to turn back and head for their camp.

"Yeah!" Luffy shouted. "Food! I want meat! Rina, I wish for meat! A ton of meat!"

"Ack!" Zerina twitched. She couldn't stop herself from granting his typical wish for meat. Her body began to glow. The glow spread out over the immediate area and a ton of meat popped into existence. "Luffy! Couldn't you have at least waited until we go back to camp?! We're going to have to carry this all back now!"

"Huh?" Luffy blinked up at her like he didn't know what she was talking about. "What for? We can just eat it right here. We'd just eat it back at camp, right?"

"Well…Yes…But…" Zerina blinked.

"Give it up, Zerina. There's no beating Luffy's logic." Rayleigh laughed. The old man then sat down and started eating himself.

"Oh fine," Zerina sighed in defeat. She should have known better. When Luffy wanted his meat, nothing could stop him. Suddenly, Luffy's arm was wrapped around her waist. He pulled her to his side and shoved a bit of meat into her mouth.

"Eat!" Luffy laughed. "You've awakened your Haki! We're celebrating!"

"Fine," Zerina mumbled around the meat. "We're celebrating."

"Yeah!" Luffy cheered again. Zerina shook her head. A smile pulled a crossed her lips. She really did enjoy being here with him. Even though her training was hard. And she had gained some new cuts and bruises along the way, it was worth it just to be by his side again. She started to feel herself become happy. She was actually feeling happy again.


	6. Back to Sabaody

Back to Sabaody

Zerina sighed as she stared out over the landscape of Rusukaina. She was sitting in a tree, lost in thought. For two long years this had been the place where she lived. This was the place where she developed her fighting skills. Skills that she didn't even know she had. Her fingers raised up and touched the strap laying against her chest and shoulder. She had acquired two weapons and was now a master of them.

Or she was a master of them in Luffy's eyes. She was still unsure about it. She didn't feel like a master of them. After all, she only has two years of experience using them. Others have had years of training. She wished that Rayleigh was still on the island. But he had left six months ago. She wanted to asked him if there was anything else he could teach her about her newly acquired abilities.

She was also concerned about her friends back on Hydra. She constantly worried about it when she wasn't training and sometimes when she was training. It bugged her that she didn't know what was going on back there. It bugged her even more that she was still with Luffy after two years. Wasn't Angel looking for her? Or did Mari somehow manage to keep Angel distracted for two years? How would that even be possible? The unknown was really bugging her. She wondered if Luffy even notice her worrying. If he did, he never asked her about it. Maybe she was just lucky he was so naive.

"Rina! Rina! Hey! Rina!"

"Huh?" Zerina looked over her shoulder and down at Luffy. He had both hands in the air waving at her. His typically toothy grin was plastered on his face. She wondered how long he had been calling her.

"The ship is here! It's time to go!" Luffy informed her.

"Oh. Okay," Zerina called back. She leaned back and let herself fall off the limb. While in the air, she did a couple flips and spins before landing effortlessly on her bare feet.

"Ha! Ha!" Luffy laughed and clapped. "Beautifully done, Rina! You executed those moves perfectly."

"Uh." Zerina blushed at his praise. She rubbed the back of her neck. She paused momentarily to notice how long her hair had gotten these past couple of years. It was several inches longer and tided up with a stripe of cloth that torn from one of her outfits long ago. She couldn't decide if she liked it or if she wanted to cut it back to its normal link. "Thanks. But you're the one who's improved. I can't believe what you accomplished these past two years. That fourth gear of yours is amazing."

"Naw! I'm not that great. I just improved the skills I already had," Luffy said with his ever present grinned. "You're the one that's really improved. Your Haki has grown a lot."

"I don't know about that. I'm still an amateur after all," Zerina said with a shrug.

"Oh, don't talk like that, Rina," Luffy said as he walked up to her. He put his arm around her waist. Her heart rate sped up at his action. "You really have done wonderfully. You just don't see what I see. You are no amateur. You'll still train on the ship to get better. My crew will help you too. Usopp's our sniper, remember? I'm sure he'll be glad to give you some of his pointers. And Zoro will help strengthen your body. And Sanji will make sure you get all the nutrients you need to stay strong and healthy."

"You seem so sure of yourself," Zerina said with a small smirk. "Your crew might not even like me."

"Of course they'll like you! You're my girlfriend after all!" Luffy's grin grew widened. Zerina sighed again with a small smile of her own. Even though he had no clue what it meant, she really started to like him calling her that over these past two years. Her feet moved on their own when he started to pull her in the direction of the ship. "Besides…they'll have to like their co-captain it's an order from their captain."

"Co-captain?" Zerina raised an eyebrow at the hatless teenager beside her.

"That's right! Hee hee! You and me are the same!" Luffy chuckled.

Zerina sighed. She knew there was no arguing with him when he set his sights on something he really wanted. "All right, Lalu, if you say so."

"Come on!" Luffy took her hand then took off running. "There's something we've got to pick up before we head for the ship!"

"Right." Zerina nodded. She knew instantly what he was going after. She smiled. Straw Hat Luffy was about to make his comeback. The two remained quiet during their run to the only safest place on the island. They stopped running when they got there and slowly walked up to the hat Luffy left here two years ago. "My father's hat."

"Yeah." Luffy nodded. He released Zerina's hand and stepped up to the hat. He picked it up and brushed it off. He stared at it for a while before putting it on his head. "It seems like such a long time since I placed it here. Just doesn't feel right without it."

Zerina didn't say anything. Her silver eyes locked onto the hat. It's been such a long time since she seen him, her father. Now she has been here for two years. She wondered if he was going to be upset with her for not coming to see him all ready. Feeling guilty, she dropped her eyes to the ground. She really missed him, but was still slightly afraid of going to see him. She barely registered Luffy putting his arms around her and pulling her to his chest. Her hands rose up and clenched a hold of the back of his shirt. Tears poured over her eyelids.

"Rina," Luffy said softly. He stroked her back gently. "I want you to go see him. It's been far too long since you have."

"I know." Zerina nodded.

"You don't have to go right now, but I really do want you to go soon," Luffy said again. He pulled back from her. He brushed away her tears before speaking again. "I know you miss him. I know he misses you too. And, hey, he'll be so surprised to see how you have grown. I'll bet he'll be surprised to see you've developed Armament Haki!"

"He'll probably have a heart attack," Zerina said while thinking of her dad. "I don't think he was ever really fond of the idea of me fighting."

"Naw! He'll love it!" Luffy said insistently. "Have you thought about when you're going to go see him?"

"You said I didn't have to yet." Zerina shot Luffy a smirk.

"You're going. But after we return to the Sunny. I want you to officially meet our crew," Luffy said.

"Speaking of which…" Zerina paused. She bit her lip before continuing. "Are you going to tell them about me? You know…about my _gift_?"

Luffy didn't reply. Zerina locked eyes on to him. His hat fell over his eyes. She wished she could tell what he was thinking. She shifted from foot to foot. "Uh, Luffy?"

"Don't worry about it," Luffy finally said. "We'll just let things play out on their own. We don't have to tell them anything."

"Huh?" Zerina raised an eyebrow at him. She wasn't sure what to expect him to stay, but that surely wasn't what she was expecting. "Luf-"

"Let's go!" Luffy reclaimed her hand and took off towards the ship. "They're waiting for us!"

"Luffy! That's too fast! I'm going to fall!" Zerina cried as Luffy dragged her along.

"Not to worry, Rina!" Luffy cried. He let go of her hand to grab her waist. She released a startled cry when he picked her up and placed her over his shoulder. She placed her hands on his abs, blushing in the process, and pushed herself up to look at him. She was going to tell him to put her down, but didn't get the chance. She noticed shadows had fallen over his eyes again, but his smile remained. "I'll never let you fall."

Zerina sighed. "Ugh. You are so hopeless. Do you know that?"

"Hee hee!" Luffy chuckled.

Zerina had no choice, but to remain on Luffy's shoulder. A few minutes later, they broke through the forest and came out to the same cliff they got dropped off on two years ago. Some of the Kuja were already on the cliff. They waved and cheered. "Hey! Luffy!"

"It's been so long!"

"It's good to see you!"

"Hi, everyone!" Luffy cheered and waved back to them.

"L-Luffy," Hancock stuttered as she halfway hid behind Marigold.

"Hey! Zerina!" Sandersonia smiled with a wave. "Look at you! You've gotten so strong!"

"Hi, Sandersonia," Zerina said. She pushed up on Luffy's stomach again to try and look at the women. It really didn't work very well. "Uh, Luffy? You can put me down now."

"Naw. I'm fine," Luffy replied.

"Luffy!" Zerina grumbled.

"If you two are ready to go, we can set sail whenever you're ready," Marigold said, turning to the ship.

"Might as well." Luffy nodded. "We got a long trip back to Sabaody. I can't wait to see my friends!"

"Oh, L-Luffy, we got a meal prepared for you," Hancock said. The woman was still blushing and hiding behind her sister. Zerina rolled her eyes. It was obvious the dark haired woman was ignoring her on purpose. Zerina didn't care.

"Zerina," Sandersonia called.

"Huh?" Zerina tried to look at her again. Or she looked at her the best she could while hanging from Luffy's shoulder.

"I brought you some new clothes as well," The tall woman said as they all started to make their way to the ship. "I also had them made to the way that you like them."

"Oh, well, that's nice of you," Zerina said. She blinked. "You really didn't have to do that."

"I wanted too," Sandersonia replied. "I figured all the ones you brought with you would be pretty worn out by now."

"They are," Zerina said with a nod. She thought about the bikini style outfit she was wearing. It was the last one she had. And it was held together from scrapes of the other outfits and dress she had brought with her. She never thought her training would completely shred them all.

"And we're going to have a bath prepared for you when you're ready for one," Marigold added.

"A bath?! I so love you all right now!" Zerina shouted. Her cheeks blushed red in dreamy anticipation on soaking in a hot bath. She started kicking her legs and waving her arms at the ship. "I haven't had a real bath in so long! All we had on this stupid island was a cold river! Let me at it!"

"You're eating first," Luffy then said in an authoritative tone she wasn't use too.

"What? Why? It's my bath!" Zerina protested.

"I'm your captain," Luffy gave her a cheeky grin. "And you _are_ eating before you bathe."

"Ugh! Luffy! You said we were co-captains! That means I can decide on what I want!" Zerina kicked her feet again as Luffy ignored her and carried her on the ship. "I want a bath! It's a _hot_ bath! Do you have any idea how long it's been since I've had a hot bath?! How can you deny me that?!"

Luffy chuckled. "If you take a bath before you eat, I'll be joining you in the bath and bring the food with me."

Zerina instantly stopped struggling. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest as her face flushed ten shades of red. She vaguely heard the other women chuckling at her predicament. She thought she heard Hancock growling at her, but she wasn't sure. Next thing she knew, she was sitting at a table with Luffy beside her and a large array of foods in front of her. She blinked rapidly at the food. Luffy brought a piece of meat up to her lips. "Eat."

Obediently, she parted her lips for him. She sighed and chewed on the meat. The tantalizing flavors of it made her taste buds dance and her stomach rumble. She heard Luffy laugh again. "See? Aren't you glad you decided to eat before taking a bath?"

" _I_ decided?" Zerina shot Luffy a scrutinizing look.

"I told you! You're my co-captain!" Luffy insisted again. "If I make a decision, you make the decision too!"

"That's not how that works, Luffy," Zerina grumbled. "We're not the same person. We have to discuss decisions _together_. You can't just make them yourself then say _we_ made the decision together."

"Mmm, close enough!" Luffy smiled just as carefree as ever.

"Give it up, Zerina," Sandersonia said with a chuckle. "It might not make sense, but you're not getting out of this."

Zerina released a surrendering sigh. "Fine. We're the same person. We made the 'me eating decision' together."

"Good girl!" Luffy nodded. Zerina rolled her eyes, but continued eating.

Eventually, she admitted to herself that eating before her bath was the correct decision. The food was amazing. All they had on the island was whatever they could catch. And that was mostly fish. The other animals on the island, somehow, became Luffy and her friends. They couldn't eat them then. Luffy was more upset about that turn of events than she was. They also had Luffy's meat wishes. But Zerina didn't like meat like Luffy did. She grew tired of eating so much of it. She was ready for other meals. Meals that included spices. Spices were also lacking on the island with its rough weather changes.

"Hey, Rina?" Zerina paused when she heard Luffy calling for her again. She was heading for her bath now. She rested her hand on the doorframe and looked back at him. "I was just wondering, are you gonna cut your hair?"

"I was thinking about it," Zerina said while touching her hair. "I don't think I'm really gonna like it this long. It's kinda heavy too. Why?"

"I was just curious." Luffy put his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair. "I liked it better when it was shorter. The wild, windblown look suits you better. You look more like your dad. I think you should cut it."

"You're probably right." Zerina pulled her hair over her shoulder. "Long hair like this can be difficult to take care of. Hey, Sandersonia?"

"Yes?" The green haired woman looked at her.

"Do you all have a pair of scissors I can borrow to cut my hair?" Zerina asked.

Sandersonia nodded. She stood up from her chair and walked over to Zerina. "There's one in the bathroom. I can show you where."

"Thanks." Zerina nodded. She followed the tall woman out of the room and down the hall. It only took a couple minutes for them to reach the bathroom. They stepped inside. Zerina's mouth fell open. The bath was huge. It was large rectangular shape pool like bath tube. Stream was rising out of the hot water. The stream filled the room making taking a bath even more tantalizing. "You warriors are seriously my most favorite people on the planet right now."

Sandersonia laughed. "Well, you are more than welcome to take as long as you want. I know I would if I only had a cold river for baths for two entire years. The scissors are right here."

Reluctantly, Zerina pulled her eyes from the streamy water. Sandersonia was pulling open a draw in the vanity that was in the room. She pulled out the scissors and placed them on the vanity desk. She pointed to a bag sitting on the floor by the vanity stool and looked to Zerina. She said, "Your clothes are right here. Is there anything else you need?"

"Um, is anyone else going to come in here while I'm bathing?" Zerina asked. She shifted from foot to foot. Sandersonia raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh, I just like taking baths in private. I'm not use to sharing with anyone."

"Ah, I see. Different cultures and all." Sandersonia nodded.

"Yeah." Zerina nodded, feeling guilty about her little lie.

"No, we'll stay out of here. You can have all the privacy you need," Sandersonia said with a smile.

"Thanks a lot. I really appreciate it," Zerina replied. She rubbed her right hand on her left arm while bending back her right leg and tapping her toes on the floor.

"I'll see you later then," Sandersonia said with a wave as she exited the bathroom.

"Thanks." Zerina waved back. Once the door was closed, she turned to look back at the steamy water. She sighed. She really wanted to crawl into that hot water. But she also didn't want to wash so much hair. With another sigh, she stepped over to the vanity. She quickly snipped away at her long red tresses.

When she finally got her hair back to its original link, she picked up her loose hairs and tossed them into the wastebasket. Then, finally, after so long, she stripped herself of her clothes and stepped into the hot water. Another, longer content sigh left her lips. "This feels so amazing! If I could, I would stay in here for two years to make up for not having a hot bath."

…

Later that night, Zerina was sitting against the mass of the ship. She was staring up at the star filled sky and humming a lullaby she thought she had forgotten long ago. She was so lost in her song and staring up at the stars that she didn't even register Luffy sitting down beside her. She didn't even notice him putting his arm around her waist and pulling her to his side. She only notice him when he spoke softly to her. He whispered, "Sing for me."

Softly, Zerina smoothly turned her hums into words. She sang for him.

"Oh La Lalu, Oh La Lalu

Oh, my little star keeper He'll gather up the stardust for you

Oh La Lalu, Oh La Lalu Little soft wish maker Here comes the star key for you

Oh La Lalu, Oh La Lalu Little sweet star sprites are dancing just for you So trust in him, let him help

Oh La Lalu, Oh La Lalu And his love be your keeper Oh La Lalu, La Lalu, La Lalu"

Zerina sang through the song a couple more times before ending it effortlessly. Luffy nodded approvingly. He said, "I love it when you sing."

"I thought I had forgotten that song. I wonder why I just remembered it?" Zerina spoke softly. Mindlessly, she leaned into Luffy's embrace.

"Your mother sang that song to you, didn't she?" Luffy asked gently.

"She did." Zerina nodded. Tears pierced the back of her eyes. "I wish I could remember what she was like."

"I know you do. And that's why I'm so insistent on you going to see Shanks," Luffy said. He tightened his hold on her even more. It made her feel safe, protected. Like nothing in the world could ever hurt her. But she knew that was just naive thinking. She knew that. She knew she could easily hurt him with a wish. She knew others could easily hurt him with their wish making abilities too.

"Lalu?" Zerina whispered.

"Yes?"

"I want to your crew to be aware of my _gift_."

"Why?" Luffy pulled away from her a bit.

She took a slow deep breath before turning to him. "Because they need to know so they don't accidentally make a wish with me around."

Luffy's hat dropped over his eyes. Zerina sighed. She grabbed the rim of his hat and pulled it back up. "Luffy, I'm serious about this. Why don't you want them to know about it?"

Zerina tilted her head in confusion when Luffy looked away from her. He kept his eyes averted from her for several seconds. He sighed then turned back to her. He said, "I'm sorry. I guess…I just didn't want to share that secret with anyone. I just wanted it to be between us."

"Seriously?" Zerina blinked. "Why?"

"I don't know." Luffy rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I guess I was just being possessive of you. You're _my_ Rina and no one else's. But you are right. They need to know about what all you can do. I don't want you to get hurt from granting accidental wishes."

"Uh, you haven't told them about me, haven't you?" Zerina blinked a couple more times at Luffy.

"Um…Nope." Luffy gave her a cheesy grin.

Zerina's mouth dropped open. Her mind shorted out for some reason. She felt her chin bob up and down while she tried to form words. It took her several minutes before she was finally about to speak again. And that was only one word. "Why?"

"I already told you, you are _my Rina_ and no one else's." Luffy chuckled. "Besides, there really hasn't been a time where the subject of you came up."

"What do you mean?" Zerina questioned.

"Just that." Luffy shrugged. "I guess I just never found the right time to tell them about you. I hope your not angry with me."

"No," Zerina sighed. "I'm not angry. I'm just surprised I guess. I figured with the way we communicated they would get suspicious of you just sitting there with random emotions popping up on your face. Or that they might over hear you talking to yourself."

"Hmm. I don't think they noticed anything like that," Luffy said with a thoughtful expression. "Then I wouldn't know. When I talk to you during those times, I only focused on you."

Zerina felt her face grow hot as her heart started to race. She really wasn't sure what to think about him keeping her a secret from his friends, but she couldn't deny that a part of her really like that their bond was just between them. Luffy's voice broke through her thoughts. He asked, "By the way, why are you out here anyway? You should be sleeping."

"Oh, I guess I've just been sleeping outside for so long that I'm not use to such a comfortable bed," Zerina said with a shrug. "I think it's going to take some time for me to get use to sleeping indoors. If I ever get use to it again. I kinda like it outside. I like being able to look at the stars."

"I suppose that makes sense." Luffy nodded. "Well, when we're back on the Sunny, you can sleep wherever you want. If you wanna sleep in the women's quarters then you can. If you wanna sleep outside then you can. But if you ever have trouble sleeping for any reason, I want you to come to be, okay? Promise me you'll come to me."

"Sure thing, Lalu." Zerina giggled. "If I ever have trouble sleeping, I'll come to you."

"Great! Now time for you to sleep." Luffy placed his hand on her head and forced her to lay down on his lap.

"Lu-"

"Nope. I said for you to sleep," Luffy insisted.

"All right." Zerina nodded with a low sigh. She closed her eyes. And with in minutes, she was fast asleep.

…

 **Author's Notes: Again, I apologize for the delay. I'm gonna start making myself work on this story 'before' I work on Neo's. She just grabs my attention so much that I ignore this one. :/**

 **loveanimation4life: Yeah, I am a bit encouraged to write. Now if only I can get into the habit of focussing more on this story than I am (and my own that I wanna publish). Glad ya like it too. I'm not so sure about it myself, but I think it'll get better once I give it the attention it should get and when I finally get to the actual point of the story.**

 **Apple Bloom: Thanks. Glad ya like it too. Same as I told loveanimation4life, I'll try to give this one more attention than I am. Then it should get better once I do.**


	7. The Sunny & Crew

The Sunny & Crew

"I don't believe this!" Zerina cried out. She was running like crazy with Luffy and two of his crew mates. They had just arrived on Sabaody a short time ago and somehow fell into the middle of trouble. Several blasts from cannons and guns rang out. The air filled with the smell of gunpowder and screams. "How is it possible that you can't even notice impostors posing as your crew?!"

"Huh?" Luffy looked at her and blinked innocently. "They looked just like them! How was I supposed to know?"

"You idiot! They looked nothing like us!" Zoro and Sanji shouted while they hit Luffy over the head.

"But never mind that for now. I'm more interested in you! You adorable little cutie!" Sanji's hearts developed hearts as he spun around Zerina. "I just love your red hair! And your eyes are just so beautiful! So many beautiful women! But who are you?"

"Uh, thanks," Zerina said. She inspected the blonde man carefully. She knew him from Luffy's descriptions and how the man was acting, but it was still a bit much to take in. "It's nice to finally meet you. Although, I never thought we'd be meeting like this. My name's Zerina. I thought we'd have more of a peaceful trip to your ship then have proper introductions."

"Well, get use to it," Zoro said. "With Luffy around, we're always gonna get into trouble."

"I think you've down played all of your adventures you told me about!" Zerina glared at Luffy.

Luffy just laughed as carefree as ever. "Don't worry, Rina! It'll be fun!"

"Right. Fun." Zerina pulled out her bow. She bolted to a stop, loaded an arrow and pointed at the marines that were chasing them. She infused it with her haki and fired. The ground crumbled right in front of the marines that were chasing them. The marines screamed and tried to stop themselves from falling into the hole Zerina just created. Some managed to keep their balance and not fall in while others weren't as lucky.

"Wow! Beautiful and powerful! That was Armament Haki, wasn't it?! You're so incredible!" Sanji gushed. He then glared at Luffy. "Where exactly did you meet such a beautiful woman?! I thought you were training!"

"She's my girlfriend!" Luffy grinned.

"You're what?!" Zoro and Sanji screamed.

"How the heck do you have a girlfriend?! You were supposed to be training for the past two years! What have you been doing?!" Sanji demanded. "You stupid captain!"

"There'll be time for explanations later, but Luffy doesn't know what a girlfriend is. He's just always called me that since we were kids," Zerina informed them. "Right now, we have to get out of this situation and back to the Sunny."

"You're right. Luffy's not the smartest person around," Sanji said while giving Luffy a dubious look. "It's no surprise that he doesn't know what a girlfriend is. He's too focused on fun, adventures and treasure."

"Ah, so you two have known each other since you were kids?" Zoro asked.

"Yeah." Zerina nodded while willing out another arrow. Both Luffy and Zerina stood ready to fire their attacks are more marines. They were about to hand out another attack when someone else did it for them.

They both paused and said, "Huh?"

Over in the distance they saw Rayleigh at the same time. He waved to them. They waved back. Luffy shouted, "Hey! Rayleigh! Thanks for everything!"

Rayleigh waved again in answer that he heard the young pirate. Zerina then shouted, "Thank you, Rayleigh! I really appreciate everything you did for me and Luffy! I hope we get to meet again someday!"

Rayleigh returned a wave to her then signal for them to get going. Zerina nodded in understanding and followed after the three Straw Hat pirates she was with. A few heart pounding, breath stealing moments later, they had finally arrived on the Sunny. Zerina huffed and puffed. When she finally got her breath back into her lungs, she said, "I think I just overcame my doubts of not being strong enough. If a day like today is typical for you all, I'm definitely going to get a lot stronger."

Luffy just laughed. "See? I told you that you were just fine."

"Wow! One very beautiful woman! Two very beautiful women! Three very beautiful women are now on board the Sunny!" Sanji shouted. His nose suddenly gushed with blood. It sent him flying back and crashing onto the deck of the ship.

"Uh, is he okay?" Zerina pointed at him. "He's loosing a lot of blood."

"Good. Let him die," Zoro said. He walked away from the blonde hair like he literally didn't care whether his crew mate lived or died.

"He'll be fine." Zerina pulled her eyes from the swordsman and to the little reindeer. He was checking on the nose bleeding man.

"You know, I was expecting Luffy to come back with a few surprised up his sleeves, but bring back a girl was not one of them." Zerina pulled her eyes over to the orange haired woman speaking. "Let me guess, Luffy saw you fighting, it impressed him and he gave you no choice in joining our crew."

"Uh, not exactly," Zerina replied rubbing the back of her neck. She looked over at Luffy.

"We can talk about that later." Luffy ordered. He punched his fist into the air. "Right now, let's set sail! Time for a new adventure!"

"Aye Aye, Captain!" The Straw Hat crew shouted. Zerina watched as they scurried around the ship. Since she didn't know where anything was, or how to run a ship, she opted to just stay where she was and watch them. She watched them for a while before walking over to the edge of the ship. She placed her hands on the railing and looked out at the navy ships that were trying to surround them.

"Are we going to be able to get away?" Zerina asked.

"Don't worry, young miss," The tall skeleton said to her. She turned to find he was calmly standing beside her with a tea cup in his hand. She tilted her head. It seemed weird that a skeleton was talking and drinking something. Where did the tea go when he drank it? "We'll easily escape. In the mean time, may I see your panties?"

"Huh?" Zerina's shoulders dropped.

"Don't ask her that, Brook!" Nami shouted as she punched the skeleton on the head. The orange haired woman huffed then turned to Zerina. "Ignore him. He's always like that."

"Oh, right." Zerina nodded.

"How is it possible that you know the Amazons?!" Zerina then heard Sanji shouting. She looked to see the cook was pointing at her while yelling at Luffy. "Is she an Amazon?! Is that where you found her?!"

"I didn't find her at all! She found me!" Luffy shouted back. "And I already told you, we'll talk about that later!"

"What's going on with them?" Nami asked.

"It looks like Boa Hancock is helping Luffy escape," Robin replied. She looked out to see the Kuja ship blocking the way of a navy ship. "He sure makes a lot of friends wherever he goes."

"The Pirate Empress?!" Nami shrieked.

"Yeah, they're our friends now," Luffy said. He put his arm around Zerina.

After that the crew turned their attention back to escaping from Sabaody. Zerina was left on her own again to just watch them move about the ship. She found herself sitting down on the bench that wrapped around the mass of the ship. She watched quietly as the crew ran around the ship. She carefully studied them. They were easy to figure out who was who with all the descriptions Luffy had given to her so getting to know them was going to be easy. They were also a bit more lively than she expected. Living with them was definitely going to be a different experience than living back on Hydra.

…

"What?!" The Straw Hat pirates shouted. "You're Shanks daughter and Luffy's girlfriend?!"

Zerina sighed heavily. _That's it. I give up. I no longer care if people think or believe I am or I'm not Luffy's girlfriend._

"I didn't even know he had a child!" Nami exclaimed. "How is it possible that no one knew about this? He's a pirate! Something like that would be well known!"

Zerina flinched when all their eyes turned to her. She was sitting on the mass bench with Luffy. The others were scattered around on the deck sitting while a couple of them stood. She knew they wanted answers. She could easily tell that. "Oh, well…Probably because I didn't live with him for long."

"What do you mean?" Chopper asked.

"Well, my mother's family is, uh…" Zerina bit her bottom lip. She should have thought more about what she was going to tell them. "My mother's family didn't approve of her relationship with my father. So, a few years after I was born, they took me away from my father and had me live with them."

"I guess that makes sense," Nami said with a nod. "Kids born with a pirate as a parent aren't treated very well at all."

"Yeah," Zerina mumbled with a small nod. She tossed a glance at Luffy. A small sad expression was on his face, but he didn't seemed bothered by someone bring up something so connected to Ace. She looked down at her bare feet. _I guess I already had a cover story in place and didn't even realize it. I forgotten that the world looks down on kids born to pirate parents. It was kinda like that back on Hydra too. I guess things are going to work out fine with this after all_. _I can work with being the child of a pirate._

Zerina raised her eyes to look over the crew. They all seemed to accept her half truth. Or she thought they all did. Her eyes then landed on Sanji. He was carefully observing her with an intense look in his eyes. Before she could think much about his expression, he closed his eyes and puffed on his cigarette. _Does that mean he accepts my story?_

"So where is your mother and her family from?" Usopp asked.

"Uh, Hydra," Zerina said carefully. "And my mother died with I was about four years old."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Usopp apologized.

"It's all right. You didn't know." Zerina shrugged. "Beside, I don't really remember her much."

"I've never heard of an island called Hydra," Nami reported. She rubbed her finger over her chin in thought.

"Neither have I. Where is it?" Robin added.

"Well, I'm, uh." Zerina tried to force down her panic. She had no clue what to say here. She really didn't know where Hydra was. All she knew was Hydra was in the sky. She was never allowed to study anything about the island. Her aunt wanted it that way. She use to try and learn about Hydra's history, but she never could find any books on the island anywhere in the manor. And no one would answer her questions about the island. "It's kind of a hard island to find."

"If it's hard to find, then it must not have its own log," Chopper surmised. "Islands like that are always hard to find."

"Right." Zerina nodded.

"So how is it you came to be with Luffy during his two year training?" Franky asked.

"Luffy?" Zerina turned to the young man beside her. He had his hands behind his head and his hat had once again fall over his eyes. She wondered if he was going to change his mind about letting her tell the crew about her uncontrollable ability.

There was an intense paused before Luffy looked up at her. He smiled. "It's okay, Rina. We've already discussed this."

Zerina nodded. She turned to the rest of the crew. "There's something important that I need you all to do for me."

"What is it?" Chopper asked.

"I know I'm new here and all, and this isn't going to make much sense, but I really need you all to _not_ make wishes around me," Zerina said. She carefully looked at each and every one of them. She wanted them to see and feel how serious she was about this.

"Huh? What for?" Zoro asked.

"Because I have this ability to grant wishes. But I can't control it for some reason. And every time someone makes a wish with me around, I automatically grant it. And the wish always comes out dark," Zerina said. She paused to take the time to look at each and every one of the Straw Hats. They obviously were having a hard time believing her.

"You can't be serious," Franky said crossing his arms. "No one has the ability to grant wishes like that. Are you a devil fruit user?"

"No, I'm not a devil fruit user." Zerina shook her head. "I can jump into the ocean and prove it if you want me to."

"I think I'm gonna need to see proof of this," Zoro said.

"You stupid, swordsman! How dare you doubt the word of a lady!" Sanji shouted.

"Are you saying you believe everything she's told us?" Zoro growled back. "Do you really believe wish granting exists?!"

"Well, I…" Sanji paused to consider Zoro's words. He then shouted, "That doesn't matter! A man should never call a woman a liar!"

"It's fine, Sanji. I don't mind proving I'm not a devil fruit user at all." Zerina nodded. She stood up. Before walking over to the side of the deck, she took off her weapons and laid them down. She felt the crew walking over to her. Without a word, she pulled herself upon the railing then dove into the water.

"I guess she really isn't a devil fruit user," She heard Brook say once she resurfaced.

"Hey, I'll open the hatch down there so you can get back on the ship," Franky said. He didn't give her time to ask what he meant. Next thing she knew, a door was opening on the side of the ship. She saw Franky inside of it. He waved at her with one hand while holding a towel in his other. She blinked at the ship before swimming inside.

"Thanks." She took the towel from him and started to towel off her body. She then followed Franky back to the deck of the ship. She sat back down by Luffy. "If you require more proof, Luffy can make a wish for meat."

"Go ahead then," Zoro said.

"You idiot!" Sanji shouted.

"Luffy?" Zerina looked to Luffy. "Make a wish for meat."

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Luffy said with drool running down his chin. He threw his fists up into the air. "Rina! I wish for meat! Lots of meat!"

The crew gasped when Zerina started to glow. Her dark purplish blue aura surrounded her body then spread out over the ship. The aura hovered several feet above the ship. The more excitable Straw Hats shrieked when meat began to fall out of the sky and onto the Sunny. The less excitable Straw Hats just sat and watched calmly. A few of them had to dodge falling meat. Zoro sliced a couple to prevent them from hitting him. He then stuck one of his swords through a piece of meat and bit into it. He mumbled, "Not bad."

"So why can't you grant wishes properly?" Usopp asked.

"I'm not really sure. I never have been able to. The only wish I can grant without having something bad happen is Luffy's wish for meat. I always just figured it was because my father wasn't part of Hydra," Zerina replied.

"And _I'm_ the _only one_ who's allowed to make meat wishes!" Luffy pointed out. "You all stay away from her!"

"No one cares about that!" Nami shouted. "You can make all the meat wishes you want!"

"You mean you don't know?" Brook asked. "Wasn't there some kind of specialist or doctor you could go see about this?"

"No, as far as I'm aware of I'm the first ever to be born of one parent not from Hydra." Zerina shrugged. "This wish granting thing is something we're just born with. As far as I know, it's always been like that for people who were born on Hydra or of Hydra parents."

"And your family wouldn't help you?" Chopper asked.

"No, remember they're not happy with me being a child of a pirate. I was never treated like a part of the family," Zerina said before she could stop herself. She forced herself not to show any kind of emotion regarding her slip up.

"They didn't abuse you, did they?!" Luffy demanded.

"No, no, nothing like that," Zerina quickly said. She chuckled nervously. "I mean, I wasn't treated like a princess or anything, but life could have been worse back on Hydra. I was fine with how things were back there. I actually acquired a lot of skills growing up there. I can grow a mean garden."

Zerina flinched when Luffy just continued to stare at her. After a few intense seconds, he smiled. "That's good. If something was wrong, I know you'd tell me about it."

"Yeah." Zerina twitched. She twitched again when she felt someone glaring harshly at her. She ran her eyes over the Straw Hats, but no one seemed upset. _Maybe I was just imagining things?_

"So, how is it you come to be with Luffy?" Robin asked.

"Well, Luffy and I share this bond. We can communicate with each other through our minds. He stopped answering me at one point. I then could sense that something was wrong. So I left Hydra to find Luffy. When I did, I learn the reason he was in so much pain," Zerina explained. She looked at Luffy. Luffy gave her a comforting grin. He then put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his side.

"How did you get to Luffy then? If you had your own ship then you wouldn't have had the Kuja bring you back to Sabaody," Franky asked. "Or did you have to abandon your ship somewhere?"

"No, I don't have a ship. While granting wishes, I also have this other ability to, um, I'm not sure how to explain it, but I call it Star Travel," Zerina replied.

"So you can fly?" Chopper asked.

"In a weird way, I guess you could call it that." Zerina nodded. "But I can only travel directly to one place then back again. I can't take to the air and fly all over like a bird can."

"That's so cool!" Chopper exclaimed with stars in his eyes. "Could I see it some time? Please?"

"I suppose so. I'm meaning to go see my father at some point," Zerina said thoughtfully. "I won't mind you all watching me take off and return."

"Great! I can't wait!" Chopper cheered happily.

"I'm kinda excited to see that too," Usopp added.

"I'm curious as well," Robin said. "This will be an interesting thing to see."

"Well, I don't mind you all watching when I leave," Zerina said with a shrug. "I'll let you all know when I decide to go."

"That's great. For now," Nami said standing up, "We should show you around the ship now."

"Yeah! Let's give Zerina a tour!" Chopper giggled happily.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Franky cheered. "You're gonna love the Sunny!"

"Yeah! Let's go, Rina!" Luffy grabbed Zerina's hand and jerked her up from the bench. He pulled her through the Sunny while chomping on his meat. They were followed by Franky, Chopper, Usopp and Nami. She listened intently as Franky chattered on about his pride and joy. He explained every room to her in explicit details.

"Wow! This ship is incredible! I never would have imagined that a ship could look like this!" Zerina said. Her hand was still in Luffy's as her eyes kept wondering over the bar area. "That aquarium is amazing!"

"Thanks! I put a lot of work into this ship!" Franky smiled proudly. "She'll never let us down. Oh, and don't worry about your bed. I'll fix one right up for you and put it in the women's quarters before it's time for bed."

"You don't have to go through all that trouble. I don't mind sleeping on one of the couches or even on the floor. I might actually sleep out on the deck. I kinda grew accusation to sleeping outside these past two years," Zerina stated.

"Don't be silly. Me and Robin are happy to share our room with you." Nami smiled. Her eyes then dropped to the clothes Zerina was wearing. "But I do have to ask…Are those the only clothes you have?"

"Oh, yeah." Zerina looked down at her body. "I left Hydra in kind of a hurry. I didn't bring anything with me. The Amazon warriors were kind enough to give me clothes to wear."

"Ah, that makes sense." Nami nodded. "We can go shopping at the next island we stop at. Until then, feel free to brought whatever clothes you need to from me and Robin."

"I couldn't do that," Zerina said while shaking her head.

"Of course you can. You're part of our crew now. I don't mind at all. I know Robin won't mind either," Nami said with a smile. Her eyes ran over Zerina's body again. "But I think my clothes might fit you a bit better than Robin's."

"You might be right," Zerina mumbled while keeping her eyes on her body. She definitely wasn't build like Robin and Nami were.

…

 **Author's Notes: Hm, this story isn't coming out like it appears in my head. It seems like a comedy instead of a romance. :/ I guess I have issues working on two OCs at a time ^.^'**

 **Toreh: Welcome to this story then. I'm not sure how good it's gonna be. :/ It doesn't seem to be playing out as well as I though it would. All well, only time will tell how this one will turn out. It might get better when I get to the actual main part of it.**


	8. Sanji & Shanks

Sanji & Shanks

Rolling over on her back, Zerina sighed. Despite being inside the ship, in the women's quarters, she knew it was about four thirty in the morning. She had been on the Sunny for five days now. And, for some reason, she just couldn't get use to it or sleeping in doors. She wasn't sure exactly which one it was. All she knew is she was having trouble getting a decent nights sleep. She would fall asleep between two and two thirty then always wake up at four thirty. She was considering taking Luffy upon his offer if she didn't get some real sleep soon. At this point, she was just thankful that they hadn't run into any trouble. She knew she wasn't going to be good in a fight if she didn't get more than a couple hours asleep a night.

With another sigh, Zerina forced herself out of bed. No point in trying to get back to sleep. She paused and looked at the two women. Her two new roommates were sleeping peacefully. She felt a bit envious of them at the moment. Getting to know the Straw Hats was proving to be crazy easy. Of course she already knew quite a bit about them thanks to Luffy telling her practically everything about them before.

The first couple of days they spent the majority of their time getting to know _her_. They asked her all kinds of things. Luckily, none of them were hard to answer. It was just the basic get to know you questions. What's your favorite color? Red. What's your favorite style of clothes? Don't really have a favorite. What's your favorite food? Hot honey and butter rolls. Least favorite food? Strawberries. Questions like that were easy to answer and didn't require lying or manipulating her words.

She continued to walk to the door but paused when she saw her reflection in the mirror. She was wearing a light green Amazon, altered to her liking, bikini style outfit. Even thought Luffy has told her everything about his-their-crew, she didn't feel right about wearing someone else's clothes. She still felt weird about the Kuja giving her these outfits. She wondered if she would ever get use to such acts from other people. So far all the people she has met since being off Hydra were very nice and friendly. They were just so different from the people on Hydra. She wasn't sure if she was going to be able to get use to it or not.

With a third sigh and a light rumbled of her stomach, she left the room. She made her way up to the deck of the Sunny. Out on the deck, she could see Franky was up and standing guard at the front of the ship. Not really wanting anyone to know she was awake, she quickly slipped away from him and into the kitchen. Another thing she was still uncomfortable with was helping herself to someone else's kitchen, but Luffy had told her multiple times it was okay. So she opened a couple cabinets and rummaged for something to eat. She found herself some oatmeal. That was an easy make for her. She quickly whipped it up then sat in silence while eating her hot meal of oats.

While sitting in the quiet room, her mind drifted back to when she was still with her dad. Oatmeal was always a favorite of hers. Shanks would always feed it to her when she was upset, not just when she was really hungry and he needed a quick meal to make her. Tears came to her eyes. She really missed him now. Perhaps she had put going to see him off long enough. Perhaps missing him was why she couldn't sleep so well.

A sudden open of the door made her jump. She looked up to see Sanji staring at her with slightly widened eyes. Her presence startled him as much as his startled her. "Oh, Zerina, I didn't think anyone else but the two standing guard were up yet."

"Sorry," Zerina apologized. "I couldn't sleep anymore. I was hungry too."

"I see." Sanji looked at her almost empty bowl.

Zerina suddenly felt self conscience about being in here. This was Sanji's kitchen not hers. "I'm sorry. I should have asked before I dug through your food supply."

"There's no need for you to apologize. You are part of the crew now. So this food belongs to you as well," Sanji said. He puffed on his cigarette while walking into the kitchen. Zerina watched him gather up a couple pans while she polished off her oatmeal. A thick, uncomfortable silence had settled over the room. She wondered if he felt it too.

"You don't like me very much, do you?" Zerina found herself asking. She twitched when Sanji turned and looked at her. She wasn't sure what he was going to say or what he was thinking, but it was obvious that he was unsure of her. That was something he just couldn't hide from her whether he knew it or not. She knew far too many people like that back on Hydra. She swallowed. It seemed like several minutes had passed while they just started at each other. "Look, I know you're trying to hide it from me, but I've seen far too many people who don't like me because of who my father is. It's okay. I get it. I'm not someone you're use to having around. You don't have to like me just because I'm a childhood friend of Luffy's. Sometimes people just don't click. I get that too."

She watched as Sanji opened his mouth. He was going to say something, but quickly closed his lips. A few more minutes passed before he finally spoke to her. He said, "I don't even know you. You've only been here for a few days. We haven't had time to get to know each other yet. I'm sure we'll be friends once we get to know each other _for real_."

Zerina flinched at his words. She tried to stop herself, but she couldn't. And he saw her flinch. She saw a small frown pulled at the edges of his lips before he turned his back to her. She sighed to herself. This guy was different from everyone else on the Sunny. He obviously paid closer attention to details and the way people act. She should have known she wouldn't be able to fool everyone. Quietly, she asked, "How did you know?"

"Observation Haki," Sanji replied quicker than she thought he would.

"You're using haki on me?" Zerina asked. She felt hurt by his words and use of haki on her, but she didn't know why she felt like that. Its not like Sanji was a friend of hers. She'd only known him for a few days just like he pointed out. Still it stung her that he did.

"Yeah," Sanji said with a nod. "But, for the record, even if I didn't have this type of haki I still would have known that you were lying about certain things."

"I'm so-"

"Don't bother apologizing unless you're going to tell me _why_ you're lying to everyone, most importantly, Luffy," Sanji said, cutting her off.

"I can't do that," Zerina replied. She clenched her fists together.

"That's your choice to make them. But your lying better not hurt my crew. If they do, I will consider you an enemy," Sanji said with warning clearly lacing his tone.

"Then you will fight me?" Zerina asked.

"Only if Luffy says so. You are his friend so I highly doubt that will ever happen. He's obviously very fond of you. But I _won't_ forgive you if you hurt him," Sanji said. The two fell back into uncomfortable silence. There was nothing she could say at that point. She didn't want to hurt Luffy, but it looks like no matter what she did that was going to happen at some point anyway. Sighing, she turned her eyes down to her bowl.

Zerina had no idea how long she had sat there starting at her empty bowl. One minute she was staring into the empty dish with Sanji's words buzzing around her ears, the next minute the bowl had disappeared and she was sitting at the table with the rest of the crew eating breakfast that Sanji had made without her even noticing.

"You're awfully quiet this morning, Zerina," She heard Usopp say. She lifted her eyes to the sniper. "Is something wrong?"

Zerina flicked her eyes over to Sanji. He was standing at the sink washing dishes. She flinched lightly when he glanced over his shoulder at her. They locked eyes for a second before he turned his attention back to his task at hand. He apparently wasn't going to bring up the subject of her lying to anyone. She looked back at Usopp. "No, nothings wrong. I was just thinking about going to see my dad today."

"Really?!" Chopper shouted with glee. "That means we get to see that little trick you told us about?"

"Yeah." Zerina nodded.

"That's great. I've been dying with curiosity to see this," Nami said.

"I'm glad you decided to finally go see him," Luffy said. Zerina turned her eyes to him. She was sitting on his left side. She had sat there since the first time they ate in here. He designated that _her_ _spot_ , even scribbled her name on it much to the annoyance of Franky, and no one else was to sit here. "When are you leaving?"

"Well, I'm sure they're eating breakfast right now so I think I'll wait an hour or so to go see him," Zerina replied.

"That's probably a good idea," Robin said. She brought her tea cup up to her lips. "It's also possible that they're not even awake yet. They're known for being heavy drinkers."

"Yeah." Zerina chuckled. "I figured that's one thing that will never change with him and his crew. He never drank _that_ much with me around, but he still drank a lot."

…

Zerina stood on the deck of the Sunny. The Straw Hat crew was gathered around her. Even Sanji, who was standing up on the next level, was leaning over the railing. A slight amount of interest was in his eyes. She could only look at him for a few seconds before dropping her eyes away from him. Her eyes went to Luffy. She felt guilty, again. Did he really have to look at her with those innocent, trusting eyes of his?

"How long are you going to be gone?" She barely heard Luffy asked.

"I'm not sure." Zerina shrugged. "I'm not all sure what we're going to be talking about. They might want me to stay and eat lunch with them. If I had to take a guess I probably won't return until later tonight or possibly even tomorrow. Will that be a problem?"

"Naw." Luffy waved his hand in the air. "You haven't seen him for years. I'm sure you have a lot to talk about. Take all the time you need. You can always contact me if you're going to need more time with him. Just be sure to tell him I said hi. And that I can't wait to come kick his Emperor butt off his throne!"

"Thanks, Luffy. I'll be sure to deliver your message," Zerina replied with a laugh. She then closed her eyes. She heard the crew gasp when a white glow appeared around her and engulfed her body.

"That's so cool!" She heard Chopper cry.

"She looks like she's on _fire_ , but the fire is white instead of red or orange," Usopp said.

"That's just incredible!" Franky shouted. "She's super amazing!"

Without a word to them, she took off into the sky and headed east. The excitable crew mates of Chopper, Franky, Usopp and Brook ran to the railing of the ship. They watched her strange glowing form disappear on the horizon.

…

Zerina's flight across the sky was a short one. It always was. Her Star Travel ability was fast as light. She came upon her dad's ship with just minutes of taking to the sky from the Sunny. She landed on the deck of the Red Haired Pirates, startling them. Before her glow disappeared, she heard the familiar, but older, voice of Benn saying, "Well, look what just fell out of the sky. A pretty little _Fallen Star_."

"Very funny, Uncle Benn," Zerina said. She tried to sound annoyed at the old nickname, but she just couldn't. She was too excited and happy to see them again. He had started calling her than one day after she tripped and fell over her own feet. It did annoyed her, but she also loved it. Her glow faded away and she finally saw all of their smiling faces. It had been far too long since she saw them. They all had grown older and now had grey in their hair, those who had hair. "Wow! You all have gotten so _old_!"

"You better watch that smart mouth of yours, Fallen Star!" Benn growled playfully. He wrapped his arm around her neck and pulled her to his side. She squealed when he lightly rubbed his knuckles into her hair. "I'm still your uncle. And I still have permission from your dad to punish you when you get out of line."

"What? It's true!" Zerina laughed. "You all _are_ old!"

"You've gotten older too, Z," She heard Lucky Roo say through his typical mouth full of food.

"True, but at least I'm a lot cuter than you lot!" Zerina whipped back.

"She's got you there, Lucky Roo." Zerina's heart thumped with excitement against her chest. Her dad's voice was just as she remembered it. Benn released her enough so she could stand up straight and look at her dad. Shanks laughed. "And I'd much rather see her lovely face than your ugly mugs any day."

"Daddy…" Zerina felt her eyes swell up with tears. She was just so happy to see her dad after so many years of being apart from him. She broke away from Benn's hold and ran over to him. With all the strength in her legs, she leaped into his open arm. She wrapped her arms around his neck and cried. "Daddy…I-I missed you so much."

"I've missed you too," Shanks whispered back. He wrapped his arm around her. Tears were gathering in his own eyes. After several minutes of intense hugging, Zerina's feet was back on the deck of the ship and he was brushing away her tears.

"Now, no more tears. You have a lot to tell me," Shanks ordered. She shifted when his eyes roamed over the outfit she was wearing. "And I get the feeling I'm not going to like everything you have to say."

Zerina chuckled nervously. She _knew_ he wasn't going to like everything she had to say. But she knew she couldn't lie to him about anything. He knew far too much about Hydra already from what her mom had told him when they were together. He also knew the current style of clothing wasn't acceptable for someone of her position on Hydra. So, she sat down with him on the deck of the ship, along with the rest of the crew, and told him _everything_ from the moment she arrived on Hydra years ago to the second she left Luffy's ship to come see him.

"WHAT?!" Shanks's voice rang out several yards from the ship. A couple of sea king snakes shivered at the noise before diving back down to the depths of the sea. Zerina blinked as her father ranted on. "HOW DARE THAT OLD MAN TEACH MY BABY HOW TO FIGHT?! WHAT WAS HE THINKING?! OH JUST WAIT UNTIL THE NEXT TIME I SEE HIM! HE'S GOING TO PAY FOR THIS!"

"What exactly is he upset about?" Yasopp asked in a hushed tone. "If Zerina grew up on the ship with us, he would have taught her how to fight _himself_. She's the daughter of a pirate. She'd need to learn how to defend herself anyway. Besides, this could help her with her troubles back on Hydra."

"Just let him have his moment. He's a dad. He's supposed to blow things out of proportions when it comes to his little girl," Benn said with a shrug. "And how is this supposed to help her back on Hydra? They grant wishes. Which is why she hasn't told Luffy about any of the abuse she suffers, right, Zerina?"

"Yeah." Zerina nodded solemnly. "You all know that if I do tell Luffy about this he'd figure out a way to get to Hydra and try to fight them. I can't let that happen. They can kill him too easily with just a couple of words. Or make me do it since they love to torture me."

"But you should still tell him," Shanks said suddenly done with his rant. Zerina turned her eyes to him. "You know they're not going to give you up so easily."

"But why?" Zerina asked. Tears came to her eyes once more. "I didn't do anything wrong! Why can't they just let me go?! I'm nothing but an eyesore to them anyway! Why do they want to keep me there if they hate me?!"

Zerina rubbed her fists in her eyes, not noticing a strange glance Shanks gave his crew. She dropped to her knees and cried and cried. She barely noticed Shanks kneeled down beside her until he put his hand on her back. She calmed down to the soothing circles he made on her back. "Baby, you haven't been sleeping well, have you?"

"No," Zerina replied honestly through her dying sobs.

"You always had issues sleeping when you were a kid and something was bothering you," Shanks recalled.

She looked up at him. "I did?"

"Mhmm." Shanks nodded. "Sometimes you'd lose sleep over the silliest things. The only way I could get you to sleep was to sleep with you."

"I don't remember that," Zerina replied. She narrowed her eyebrows in thought. For some reason she couldn't recall a single time like that.

"Well, you were just a kid. It's natural that you don't remember everything when you lived on the ship. Why don't you come inside for a nap? We can talk more after that," Shanks offered. Zerina opened her mouth to protest. But, apparently, Shanks still knew her well enough to know ahead of time she was going to resist a nap. He shook his finger at her then pointed to the door that led inside of the ship. "Don't you dare even think about arguing with me, young lady. Up and into my room. _Right now_."

Zerina scrunched up her nose at the command, but obeyed him. She placed her hand in his larger one and stood up with him. She felt like a child once again with her hand in his. She loved it. She loved him. She quietly followed him into the ship. It still felt the same as it did years ago. It felt like home. A _real_ home with _real_ family who actually loved her.

"Here we are," Shanks announced when they entered into the captain's quarters. She glanced around the room. The large bed, the two nightstands on each side, the closet, the old wooden dresser, the mixed smells of booze, wood and her dad's scent had childhood memories flooding back to her.

Memories of her sleeping in his bed, cutting her knee when she fell, him being silly to make her laugh when she was crying. A few faded memories of her mom tried to come back, but she just couldn't remember her clearly. "Daddy?"

"Yes?" Shanks asked as he led her over to the bed. He grabbed the cover and flipped it back for her.

"Will you tell me about mom?" Zerina asked quietly. For a second, she felt like she shouldn't have ask him. He became insanely stiff and quiet. "You don't have to. I was just-"

"Of course I'll tell you." Shanks turned around and wrapped his arm around Zerina's shoulders, pulling her to his chest. He then guided her to the bed and they both sat down on it. Zerina snuggled into his side and waited for him to speak. "You were only four when your mother passed away. It's only natural that you have trouble remembering her. Well, lets see…Where would a good place be to start?"

Zerina covered a yawn while her dad debated on where to start talking. "I guess I should start at the beginning…It was twenty years ago when I first met your mother. She was by far the most stubborn woman I have ever met. She was also the most beautiful with her white hair and silver eyes. She was like a magical ghost that appeared out of nowhere. She also had a knack for getting into trouble. She had gotten caught by some bandits who wanted to sell her off at a human action house because she had such odd eyes. They thought she would be worth a lot because of them."

Shanks chuckled. "Being the charming gentleman that I've always been, I decided to help her. But, wouldn't ya know, she didn't appreciate the help at all. She actually slapped me when I set her free from the explosive collar then ran off without a word. Oddly enough, when we left that island, we found that we had a stowaway on my ship. It was your mother. Intrigued by her actions, I decided to make her a servant on my ship. It was just for fun, however. I wasn't going to make her a servant for real. But then, one day, she broke down and told me everything about her life on Hydra. She told me about how the elite there treated those who wasn't as gifted in their magic as others. About how she was going to be forced to marry a man she absolutely couldn't stand. About how she wanted to free the…Zerina?"

Shanks looked down to find that Zerina had fallen asleep. He chuckled. He should have know she was far too tired at the moment to stay awake to listen to the entire story. He kissed her hair and settled down in the bed beside her. He gave her one last looked before drifting off to take a nap with her. "Don't worry, Little Star. Everything is going to be just fine."

…

Zerina had no idea how long she slept for. All she knew is she was struggling to wake up to two muffled voices in her ears. She wanted to move but her body felt strangely heavy and stiff. She couldn't move at all. She couldn't even opened her eyes up all the way. All she could do was crack her eyes open slightly to blurry vision and listen to the voices fading in and out of her ears. Through her blurry vision she saw two bodies standing not too far from her. She couldn't figure out who they were. She knew they weren't an enemy. She knew she was safe…somewhere. But where? Why couldn't she remember where she was?

"…not going to tell her?!"

"…won't matter…she doesn't…I won't…"

"Maybe…you're the captain and her…but if not then why…the entire crew wants to know…"

"I know, Benn…something she has to….out for herself…going to be hard…but her mother wanted…"

"…hope you know…you're doing, Captain."

"Captain?" Zerina asked groggily as if she's never heard the word before in her life. She reached up to rubbed her eyes. When she touched her face she found something was covering her eyes. She went to pull whatever it was off, but stopped when one of the blurry bodies walked over to her. The blur sat down on the bed and placed its familiar hand on hers. "Daddy?"

"Don't do that," he told her. He guided her hand back down to the bed, away from whatever was on her face, then stroked her hair. "It's okay, baby. Just go back to sleep. You're safe here. No one's going to hurt you."

"Okay," Zerina said with a small yawn. She relaxed back into the pillow. Her eyes drifted closed as the second blur walked closer to the bed and spoke again.

"Think she heard…"

"No…wake enough….be fine…" The voices faded off into darkness as Zerina closed her eyes and fell back into dreamless slumber.

…

Zerina opened her eyes to the familiar sights of her father's room. She stretched out with a yawn before sitting up. She looked around to find that her dad wasn't with her in the room. She pushed off his covers and got up to go find him. As she walked through the ship, she noticed that she felt really good. She hummed to herself in thought. Before she could think much, she came to the door that would lead out onto the deck. She placed her hand on it and pushed it open. She stepped outside and blinked in confusion. "Huh?"

The ship was now docked at an island. She looked over the island. There didn't seem to be any kind of town on it. Or at least on the side that they were on. There could be a town on the other side. It looked to be a pretty big island. But why would they dock on the uninhabited side of an island?

"About time you woke up, Fallen Star," Benn joked. Zerina pulled her eyes from the island and looked at her uncle. She looked around to find the rest of her uncles weren't anywhere to be seen on the ship. She walked over to the railing and looked over it. The rest of the crew was down on the island. They had a fire going and some form of meat was rotating over the fire by the crew's cook. From the smell drifting on the breeze she found it was sea pig meat.

"What's going on?" Zerina asked him as she turned her eyes back in his direction. "We weren't anywhere near an island a few hours ago."

"We weren't anywhere near an island _yesterday_ ," Benn corrected.

"I slept yesterday away?!" Zerina's eyes widened.

"Technically, you slept yesterday and the most of today away. It's just about time for lunch. If you slept any longer, you would have missed it," Benn said. He pulled a new cigarette from his shirt pocket and lit it. He blew a puff of smoke out before walking over to her. He easily lifted her up and hung her over his shoulder like she was a sack of potatoes. "Captain, wants you down on the island. He wants you to eat lunch then you're going to be sparring with me, missy."

"What the heck?!" Zerina whined. "Sparring with _you_?! Why don't you just kill me right now and get it over with?! Why _torture_ me to _dead_?!"

Benn released a hearty laugh at her complaint. "You should have seen this coming, Fallen Star."

Zerina huffed. "If I had know this was going to happen, I would have just stayed with Luffy!"

"You staying with Luffy is precisely the main reason you're sparring with me today," Benn explained as he walked over to the rope ladder that was hang down over the ship's side so they could climb down to the island. "The captain wants to see what Silvers Rayleigh taught you."

"But I didn't bring my weapons," Zerina said thoughtfully. "I didn't even think about the possibility of sparring with someone here. I was just coming to see you all."

"Well, that was a huge mistake on your part," Benn said. "You should know to _always_ carry your weapons with you. Even if you are going into _friendly territory_. You never know when the enemy is going to pop up and attack you."

He finished speaking with a sharp smack on her bottom with his hand. She cried out, "Ouch! What was _that_ for?!"

" _Punishment_ for leaving your weapons behind," Benn replied. He swung his leg over the railing and easily descended down the rope ladder with her still on his shoulder. He jumped down the last few feet and easily landed on the ground. "You said you trained with a bow, arrows and a bo staff, right?"

"That's right," Zerina replied. Feeling the blood now rushing to her head, she placed her hands on Benn's back and pushed up. "Why?"

"I think we have some of those laying around," Benn said. Zerina growled lightly when she heard the rest of the crew laughing at her predicament as they got close enough to them. Benn then sat her back down on her feet. "You can borrow them this time. But if you ever forget your weapons again, I'll really give you a punishment. You'll train for an entire day straight without stopping and without food."

"Daddy!" Zerina almost stomped her foot on the ground. She quickly remembered she wasn't wearing any shoes and was able to stop herself before she did. She whipped around to the red haired man, looking for some defense even thought she should have know she wouldn't get any.

Shanks was leaning against a log. His arm was behind his head, he had his eyes closed and his right leg crossed over his left knee. When she addressed him, he cracked open an eye and smiled. "You know the rules around here, baby. They haven't changed since you've been gone. All of your uncles _still_ have my permission to punish you in any way they see fit when you have done wrong. Understood?"

"Ugh!" Zerina let her head fall back as her shoulders slumped. "Fine! Understood! Punishment received! Lessoned learned! I'll never leave my weapons behind again! Happy?!"

"Very good," Benn said with a chuckle. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. Her nose scrunched at the smoke tickling her senses. "Now, eat your lunch like the good little girl I know you are."

"Yes, sir," Zerina said with a defeated sigh. The cook then walked over with a plate of food and a cup of water for her. She took him with a smile. "Thank you."

Zerina then sat down beside her dad. She ate quietly while the crew chatted like she remember. She then turned her eyes to her dad. "Daddy, about what you were saying earlier."

Shanks eyes popped open. The food he was chewing on involuntarily slid down his throat, causing his face to turn blue from lack of oxygen. The crew immediately stopped all of their talking and turned to the two. Shanks pounded his chest before he could swallow his food. He gasped for air before turning to Zerina. "W-What about it?"

"Nothing much, I just wanted to apologize for falling asleep when you were telling me about mother," Zerina said, unaware of the reactions of the crew. "I guess I was far more sleepy than I thought I was."

"Oh, that," Shanks said. He took a deep breath then let it out before continuing to speak. "Don't worry about it. We can talk anytime about her. It was more important that you slept. You do feel better now, right?"

"I feel fine. I felt great until Uncle Benn informed me I was sparring with him," Zerina said. She then shot a glare at the grey hair man. He responded with a simple smirk before turning back to his own food. "Do I _have_ to spar with him? With the crew at all? They're way stronger than I am."

"No whining about this, baby," Shanks said in a slight warning tone. "This has to be done. I want to make sure you are capable of taking care of yourself when the situation arrises. Things are different here than on Hydra. You're on a pirate crew now. You'll need to know how to handle stronger opponents, but I'm sure Luffy's crew will help you with that and help you train more. Right?"

"Yes, sir," Zerina said with a confirming nodded.

"Then finish your lunch." Shanks nodded to the half eaten meal on her plate. "You'll rest for about thirty minutes after your finished then start your sparring season."

"Right." Zerina nodded again.

"By they way," Shanks said. Zerina turned her eyes back up to him. "Do you remember the song that your mother use to sing you?"

"I didn't remember it until a few days ago," Zerina said thoughtfully as she recalled the time and place she suddenly remembered the song. "I was with Luffy on the Kuja ship. It just suddenly came back to me. Why?"

"No special reason," Shanks said. He had his eyes down at his plate. He pushed his food around before looking up at her with a strange, serious and concerned stern look that she couldn't recall him ever using. " _Never_ forget it again, okay? _Promise me_ you'll remember it from now on. _Promise me_ you'll sing it _everyday_ so you don't forget it again."

"Uh, okay. I promise." Zerina blinked. "I don't want to forget it again anyway. Singing it everyday will help with that. I guess I just didn't sing it enough on Hydra and ended up forgetting it. I guess being back with Luffy somehow reminded me of it."

Shanks just slowly nodded to her. Zerina then turned her attention back down to her plate, unaware of the passing glances of concerns the crew was giving their captain.

…

Zerina stood, somewhat, ready to face off against Benn. She knew he wouldn't intentionally hurt her, but she also knew he wasn't going to go easy on her either. She knew he would start off slow, inspecting her fighting style, before going in for the attack. She figure she might as well do the same. She couldn't really remember how any one of them fought since she was only six years old the last time she was with them.

She placed her bo staff, bow and arrows, her borrowed weapons for the moment, securely on her back before charging in towards Benn. She jumped up into the air and brought her foot down towards his head. He easily blocked it. She threw a couple punches at him, followed by a couple more round house kicks before leaping away from him. She pulled out her bow staff then charged back in.

After a few swings with her bo staff, Benn suddenly took off on her. She quickly followed. "What is he-"

Zerina cut her own voice off and quickly jumped backwards seconds before Lucky Roo leaped out of a group of nearby bushes. She swung her bo staff at him. He blocked it with the back of his wrist. Taking a bit of his sea pig meat, he said, "Not bad. I wasn't expecting you to sense me that quick."

"I knew something wasn't right when Benn took off running," Zerina replied with a smirk. "I should have known from the beginning that this sparring session wasn't going to be just between _me and him_ , daddy's more _thorough_ than that. He will want to test me on more than just one on one training."

"Good girl," Lucky Roo praised her. She caught him by surprised when she planted her foot on his knee. "What the…?"

"And right now Yasopp is coming up from behind me," Zerina said with a smile. She pushed up on Lucky Roo's knee and flipped backwards over Yasopp. She then planted her feet on the man's back, kicking him forward and throwing him slightly off balance. Yasopp stumbled forward and almost clocked Lucky Roo on the chin with his fist. "And this is how it's gonna be. I'm gonna have to be more careful now that I know for sure pretty much all of you are going to try and attack me."

…

Zerina panted hard. She wiped the back of her arm over her chin, brushing the gathering sweat off of it. She quickly jumped to her left when one of the Red Haired Pirates rushed at her with his fist swinging at her. She just got out of the way as he brought his hand right down on the ground where she was standing. She pulled out an arrow. Embedding it with her Armament Haki, she fired at him. But, of course, he easily dodged it.

They all easily dodged her attacks. She didn't find this surprising at all. They were, after all, subordinates of an Emperor. And they have had years of training over her two years. She knew that she was never going to be able to defeat them. And she also knew they were going easy on her, _extremely_ easy. They had been going at this sparring session for hours. And she was no where near taking any of them down. She didn't mind. That wasn't the point of this anyway. She knew the point was for her dad to see what she can do and for his crew to train her while she was with them.

She whipped around when she felt Benn coming up from behind her. She wasn't able to move quick enough. He easily knocked her bow out of her hand, her bo staff was knocked out of her hand two hours ago. Now with her bow taken away, all she had was her fists and feet. She round housed kicked him. Again, he easily blocked her attack then sent her flying several yards away from him. Her body collided with the ground. She bounced then rolled before coming to a dusty stop. She waved her hand to get the dirt away from her. "Geez! This is a lot harder than fighting those animals back on Rusukaina!"

"Indeed it is," Shanks said while walking up to them. "But you have done well. I see that Rayleigh's trained you well enough. You're going to be fine sailing with Luffy and his crew. That'll be enough. I don't want you to get hurt over a silly little sparring season."

"Great." Zerina rolling onto her back.

"Let's get those cuts taken care off. After that, you should eat something and sleep some before going back to Luffy," Shanks said while running his eyes over the small cuts and bruises she gather from the day's training.

"Probably a good idea," Zerina said through pants while sitting up. She brought her right foot underneath her. She placed her hand on her knee and pushed herself to her feet. She was able to stand up, but stumbled forward.

"Maybe we over did it a little," Shanks said as she fell into his arm. He nodded to Benn. Benn nodded back as he walked over to the two. He picked Zerina up. "Let's get you into the doctor's quarters."

"Right." Zerina nodded and closed her eyes. She was so glad someone was there to carry her. She wasn't sure she could even take a single step toward the ship. A few minutes later, she was sitting in the doctor's quarters. The Red Haired Pirates doctor was dabbing a cotton ball covered in antibiotics on the cuts on her skin. Some of the cuts stung from the antibiotics, but she was too tired to care.

"Since your here," The doctor said. Zerina stiffened up. She knew what he was going to say before he even got a word out. "Let me take a look at your back."

" _Zerina_ ," She heard her dad say in his typical fatherly warning tone. She sighed knowing there was no way out of it. So she pulled her legs onto the bed and turned her back to them. When she knew they had adverted their eyes, she pulled her top up. She left it hanging around her neck so it would fall over her chest. Seconds later, a dark cloud filled the room. She could feel her father's harsh glare on her back. She knew if he could get to Hydra he would kill every single one of them in a second.

The doctor remained smartly quiet. He rummaged for an ointment that he could put on her back that would help it heal. When he found it, he quietly walked back over to the bed. He sat down on his chair and started applying it to her skin. "Well, it's healing nicely. Just as long as you don't get it cut and get dirt in it. If that happens, it'll get infected. So try to avoid getting hit on your back until it's healed completely."

"Right." Zerina nodded. She focused down on the bed and contacted Luffy. _"Luffy?"_

 _"What's up, Rina?"_

 _"I'm going to stay a little while longer with my dad. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"_

 _"Sure thing, Rina. How is everyone over there?"_

 _"They're fine. They miss you too and can't wait to see you again."_

 _"Are you okay? You sound kind of tired."_

 _"I am. I trained with the crew today."_

 _"What?! That's incredible! Well, I won't have you tell me how it all went. You can talk about that when you get back to the ship. You just take care of yourself for right now. And get some sleep."_

 _"Sure thing."_

 _"See you tomorrow!"_

 _"Yeah. See you then."_

"Are you done talking to your lover?" Shanks asked. The doctor chuckled as Zerina felt her face grow hot.

"Daddy!" Zerina hissed. "Luffy is _not_ my lover!"

The two men laughed hysterically. She pulled on her top while they were busy laughing. She turned to them. Standing up, she stomped her foot on the floor and instantly regretted it. She was far too sore from training to be stomping around. And stomping your foot without shoes on was never a good idea. She dropped back on the bed and whimpered at the pain shooting through her body. She hissed at the two men in the room. "Will you two stop laughing? What's so funny anyway?!"

"You and your naivety towards Luffy," Shanks told her with a large grin on his face. "You two are meant to be together. You just don't see it. You're totally in love with him and he's totally in love with you."

"I am not!" Zerina snapped. She could feel her face growing hotter. "And he's definitely not in love with me! We haven't seen each other for _years_! Besides, you know how he his!"

"Naw. That's just denial talking." Shanks smirked at her. "I'm a father. And I'm _your_ father. I can sense these things."

"Sure you can," Zerina grumbled as she stood up.

"You are in l-o-v-e!" Shanks sang. Zerina growled. Ignoring the two cackling hyenas, she left the room with a slam of the door behind her. Walking down the hall, she could still hear them laughing and singing about her being in love with Luffy. She rolled her eyes and went to find someone that wasn't as childish as her dad. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to happen with this group of pirates. Rockstar had been passing by the doctor's quarters and heard what Shanks had said about her and Luffy. So she spent the majority of the night listening to them teasing her. After about three hours of endless torture, her dad finally took pity on her and ordered his crew to stop teasing his baby. But they didn't stop sending her teasing smirks and glances. Eventually sleep came as a heavenly blessing. She drifted off to sleep while leaning against her dad's side as the crew continued talking and drinking.

…

"What the heck happened to _you_?" Just about all of the Straw Hats asked when Zerina arrive back at the Sunny. Her arms were slack at her sides and her legs wobbled like noodles. She had brushed most of the dirt off her skin, but some still remained. She wanted to take a shower back on her dad ship, but using a bathroom where only men used didn't sound very appealing to her.

"If the Red Haired Pirates ever ask you to spar with them," Zerina side. She looked pointedly at each and everyone of the Straw Hats, even Sanji who, shockingly, was just as shocked to see the mess she was in as the rest of them were. "Just say _no_ and walk away as _fast_ as you can."

"You trained with an Emperor's crew?" Robin asked with a calm tone that Zerina thought was highly inappropriate for this situation.

"Yes." Zerina nodded.

"That's practically suicide!" Usopp shouted. "My dad's on that ship! They're insanely tough!"

"Don't worry, guys." Luffy smiled confidently. "Shanks wouldn't let them hurt his girl. She was perfectly safe with them."

"That's still pretty insane," Franky said. He pushed up his sunglasses to get a clearer look at Zerina's cuts and bruises.

"That's scary," Brook added before taking a sip of his tea. "I'm glad I wasn't there. I would have died. But, then, I'm already dead so…"

"Do I need to take a look at your injuries?" Chopper asked while looking her up and down.

"No, thanks anyway. The doctor on my dad ship took care of them yesterday. Right now, all I want is a long, very long, hot soak in a hot bath," Zerina said while walking passed the crew.

"All right, but I still want to put some antibiotics on those cuts when you get out of the bath," Chopper said. Zerina turned to argue that it wasn't necessary, but she didn't have the strength too. And he wouldn't be looking at her back so she just nodded in response.

"Do you need help in the bath?" Nami offered. "You look a bit unstable."

"No, I'll be fine." Zerina waved her off. "Thanks anyway."

"All right then," Nami said with a nod. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to call for one of us. Oh, and we'll be dock in a few days. There's an island not far from here. We can finally get you some new clothes."

"Okay." Zerina waved at them then disappear into the ship to get her a clean pair of clothes. After she grabbed herself a fresh bikini she made her way up to the bathhouse. While the tub filled she removed her clothing and check herself over to make sure none of her new cuts had gotten infected. They hadn't. Once the tub was filled up to her desirer, she turned off the knobs and slipped into the steaming water. "Now this feels great."

Zerina closed her eyes with a content sigh. She stayed that way for several minutes before opening her eyes. She narrowed her eyebrows in deep thought. Something felt odd to her all of a sudden. It was like she couldn't recall everything that happened while visiting her dad and his crew. She started to think through what she did when she arrived. "That's odd. Why would I feel that way? Nothing special happened. I arrived on the ship, said hello to everyone, took a nap with dad, I did fall asleep while he was telling me about mother, then I woke up, meet Benn on the deck, went down to the island, ate lunch, talked about mother's song, sparred, doctor visit, dad and everyone teased me about Luffy, ate, slept again, then came back to the Sunny. Hmm…I'm not missing anything…Am I?"

…

 **Author's Notes: Sorry for the delay 'again'. Our lovely little internet modem thingy decided it wanted to quit working. So we've been out of the internet for eight days. :'( Of course it happened on the weekend so we had to wait 'til monday for it to get shipped out. And then apparently our internet provider people has a different definition of 'express shipping' than everyone else. :P Here's this chapter. Enjoy!**

 **loveanimation4life: Hmm..I guess that last chapter did ended abruptly. I didn't' even noticed until you mentioned it and I reread it. :/ Good luck with your story! :)**

 **PuddyKatz: Oh yeah. He's gonna find out about it. I wonder what he'll think and do? ^.^**


	9. Accidental Wish

Accidental Wish

"Thanks a lot for letting me help you all with this," Zerina said as she helped her new crew prune their gardens. She was up on the small, cute little deck that housed Robin's flower garden, Usopp's seed garden and Nami's tangerine trees. "I was about to go stir crazy with nothing to do. Guess I never realized how little there was to do on a ship unless you have actual specific duty to preform. I'm so use to having all of my chores to do back on Hydra."

"Think nothing of it." Robin smiled. "We're glad to have your help."

"And I still can't get over the fact that you all actually have gardens on a ship. I know they're small, but still. This ship is just so impressive," Zerina said. Stood up and stretched out her back. She let her eyes roam over the desks and features of the Sunny. "I thought all of them were just plain, simple woodened ships. I've never seen any book that had a ship like this in it."

"Well, that's just Franky's style," Usopp replied. He finished watering his own plants and stood up. "I think it's a perfect match. They're both loud."

"Hey! I heard that!" Franky shouted from somewhere below them. The small group attending the gardens exchanged laughs.

"I really love the ship, Franky," Zerina said. "It's really impressive. And it really fits to the Straw Hat crew's image."

"Thank you, Zer!" Franky called back.

Zerina smiled. A few of the Straw Hats started to call her Zer instead of Zerina. She loved it. It made her want to feel like she actually belonged there. But she knew she couldn't let herself feel like she belonged on the Sunny with the Straw Hat crew. She still had her worries, her worries with everything dealing with Hydra, her _family_ and now with Sanji knowing her secret. She walked over to the edge of the railing and looked down at the blonde cook on the lower deck.

Sanji was leaning his back against the railing. His cigarette was hanging lazily in his lips while he started out at the horizon with an unreadable expression on his face. A light breeze was teasing his blonde tresses. Zerina's heart skipped a beat in worry. So far the young man hasn't told anyone of what he knew about her. But she had no clue if he would keep that secret forever. He made it very clear that he was loyal to Luffy and his crew. She knew that already. He didn't have to actually say that to her. She could clearly see how devoted this crew was to each other. Even Zoro and Sanji, who did nothing but argue, had their own type of respect and loyalty to each other.

"Hey, you okay, Zerina?" Nami's voice asked.

"Yeah." Zerina turned back to the orange haired woman. "Just got lost in thought. It's such a nice day."

"It sure is." Nami smiled and tilted her head back. "We should soak up the sun since it's so nice. It's a perfect day for it too. We can ask Sanji to make us some cool drinks."

"That sounds like fun," Robin agreed with a smile of her own. "Would you like to join us, Zerina?"

"I don't know. I've never been the type to sit around and soak up the sun," Zerina said thoughtfully. _Because I've never been allowed to just sit back and relax._ She sighed. "Actually…I don't think I've ever done that before."

"Well, now you can. You can work on your tan," Nami said. The orange hair woman led the way down the stairs. Robin and Usopp followed shortly after. Zerina remained where she was for a few seconds. Once the small group reached the deck of the ship, she started down the stairs. She was about three steps before stepping onto the deck when Zoro woke up from his nap. He stretch out and yawned.

"It's been so boring lately," Zoro complained. Zerina walked down the last three steps. She got one foot on the deck when Zoro said something he really shouldn't have. "I really wish there was something to fight. Maybe a sea king snake or a couple of them for a real challenge."

"Uh!" Zerina's eyes popped open. She stumbled and fell to the deck and started glowing her typical dark purplish blue aura. "No!"

But it was too late. The words had been spoken. The wish had been made. There was nothing she could do now to stop it. Tears streamed over her eyelids. She had just put the Straw Hat crew in so much danger.

"Zerina!" Luffy's voice barely louder than her pounding heart. She hardly felt him lift her up and press her into this chest. "What happened?!"

"Wish…" Zerina whispered through her tears. "I'm sorry, Luffy."

The rest of the Straw Hat crew gathered on the deck. They watching in shock as Zerina's glow separated from her body and flowed out over the ocean. Unable to move, they just watched as the glow morphed into three very huge sea king snakes. The head of the snakes formed first. Their heads were just short of being half the size of the Sunny. They're scales were a dark purple color with grey lining the edges of their scales. They blinked and started to look around. They seemed confused at first, but as more of their bodies came into existence, their confusion began to fade and they looked down at the ship. At the Straw Hat crew. At their prey.

Usopp, Brook and Chopper cried out. "AAAAHHHH! THEY'RE GONNA EAT US!"

"You stupid idiot!" Sanji shouted. He leaped over and whacked Zoro over the head. "What the heck did you do that for?! You know we're not suppose to make wishes around Zerina!"

"So I forgot! What's the big deal?!" Zoro shouted back. "We'll just kill them off! It's not like we haven't killed sea kings before!"

"That's not the point!" Sanji snarled.

"Never mind that now!" Franky said while pulling out his right hand. The hand dropped down and he started firing at the snakes. His attack just bounced off the snakes. The creatures zeroed their dark eyes in on the cyborg.

"His attack did nothing," Robin noted unnecessarily. Zerina looked up at her just as she turned her eyes to look at her. "Will our attacks even be helpful?"

"I don't know. They might be or might not be. I've never granted a wish like this before. All I know is they're going to be tough and strange, unexpected things might happen," Zerina replied. Before anyone else could say anything one of the large snakes dove in and grabbed Franky.

"AH! IT'S GOT FRANKY!" Usopp shouted.

"It's gonna eat him!" Chopper cried. "What do we do?!"

"Help me! That's what you do!" Franky shrieked back. The cyborg grabbed the snake's lips and tried to free himself. The snake didn't move. It just held the cyborg in between its teeth.

"We fight it!" Luffy said. "Let's take it down! Now!"

"Right!" Everyone yelled. They all stood ready to fight. Those who had weapons pulled them out. They all, but Luffy, charged in immediately.

"You okay?" Luffy asked. He looked down at Zerina. She looked up at him and saw the concern in his eyes.

"I'm okay, Luffy. Don't worry about me right now," Zerina replied, even though all she wanted to do right now is cry and scream then cry and scream some more. She stood up to back up her point. Turning she head towards her own weapons, which were leaning up against the wall. Her trip to her dad's ship cured her of forgetting her weapons. Even on the Sunny she made sure to keep them with her or very close by. "We have to fight now."

"Right! Gum Gum!" Luffy shouted. He leaped up towards the snake. "Gatling!"

Luffy shot a wave of rapid punches at the snakes, some missing and hitting Franky. The cyborg shouted out, "Ouch!Ouchouchouchouch! Hey! Hit the _SNAKES_! _NOT ME_!"

"Sorry!"

Zerina strapped on her arrows and bo staff to her back. She pulled out an arrow and loaded it while turning around. She paused to watch the Straw Hats repeatedly attack the snakes. Luffy, Sanji and Zoro were attacking the snakes as hard as they could. Nami, Chopper and Brook, being the weaker of the crew, stood ready but were obviously going to let the stronger of the crew handle this. Robin had her arms crossed over her chest. The black haired woman had her two large hands out, trying to pry open the mouth of the snake that still held Franky in its jaws. Usopp was firing at the snakes with his seeds, but so far nothing was working. He scoffed, "What the heck are these things made of?! Nothing's working!"

Zoro and Sanji jumped from the ship. They each took a snake and attacked it. Zoro landed on one's back and repeatedly slashed his black blades across the snake's back. Sanji landed on the other snake and repeatedly kicked the snake behind its head. The snake hissed, knocked its head into the cook's body and dove underwater with him.

"Ah! It took Sanji underwater!" Chopper shriek. "What do we do?!"

Fear built up into Zerina's chest. Their attacks weren't doing any good against the snakes so how could hers? She cursed everything about herself under her breath before mentally slapping herself. She knew now wasn't the time for that. She had to help free Franky and get the ship and crew out of this area. But first, she had to save Sanji, or attempt to save him. She shouted, "Chopper! Get me some rope!"

"Right!" Chopper cried back without asking why. He just darted into the Sunny while Zerina bolted up to the crew's gardens and jumped upon the railing. She looked over the water until she spotted the snake under the waves. "Here!"

"Thanks!" Zerina grabbed the rope and quickly tied the rope to her arrow. She reloaded the arrow. "Nami! Brook! Chopper! Come! Get ready to pull!"

"Right!" They shouted and ran up to her.

Zerina locked her eyes onto the dark image swimming under the water. When she spotted the smaller dark image she was looking for, she aimed her arrow just beside it. She fired her arrow into the water. She waited until the rope was taught to shout for the crew to pull Sanji back to the ship, as long as he could free himself from the snake's hold. "Pull!"

The crew grunted and pulled until Sanji's head broke above the water level. He was able to get free. They pulled him up as far as they could until he got enough air into his lung to climb the rest of the way up himself. Once to the railing, Zerina grabbed a hold of his wet clothes and helped him over the rail. He coughed a couple times. "Thanks."

"Don't thank me," Zerina said, feeling extremely guilty. She looked away from him, unable to make eye contact. She stood up and walked away from him as the worried crew checked on him. "I'm the cause of all this."

"Sanji, are you okay?!" She heard Nami asked.

"That was scary!" Brook said.

"Don't worry about me," Sanji replied. "We have to stop these creatures."

 _I don't think we can._ Zerina thought. Her wishes always came true. They didn't stop until the wish had been fulfilled. But how could this wish be fulfilled when none of their attacks were working on the snake? Zerina reached for her arrows. She mindlessly imbedded them with her haki and fired them at the snakes. She reached for another arrow to find she had used them all.

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!" Franky cried out. Zerina looked up to see the snake had tossed its prey into the air. Everyone gasped and tried to attack again as Franky fell into the mouth of the creature.

Reality faded away from Zerina's senses as she watched helplessly as one of the Straw Hat crew got swallowed up by one of her creations. Rage built up in her chest. It built up until she couldn't take it anymore and she screamed. "No! Give him back!"

The snakes paused and looked at her. Zoro took a quick glance at them before his instincts told him to get back to the ship. So he ran up the snake's back and jumped back over to the Sunny.

"What are they doing?" Usopp asked. The snakes continued to stare at Zerina before rapidly charging towards her before anyone could react.

"Zerina!" Luffy shouted trying to get to her. "Move!"

Zerina barely heard him in time to move. She glanced up at the three monsters coming towards her. She tossed her bow out of her hand and grabbed for her bo staff. She swung it at the snake closest to her. Her entire body vibrated at the rough contact when the staff collided with the snake's head then an audible snap. She forgot to use her haki on it. Next thing she knew, she felt her body being hurled backwards and the shouts of the crews' cries rang out through the air. She then felt her back collide with something very solid. She crumpled to the ground at the sound of Luffy shouting her name. "Zerina!"

She looked up as her lungs tried to refill with air. Through her blurry vision she saw the three snakes charging at her again. Her mind screamed at her to run, but her body refused to listen. She began to accept her fate, and believed it would be better, that she was going to die. Before she could get drawn to far into her despair, one of the snakes suddenly 'poofed' out of existence. _What? Where did it go? Huh? Luffy?_

Zerina blinked. Her vision was clearer now. She could see Luffy. His body was positioned in attack mode. And she could see something else around him. His body was glowing white. She struggled to keep her eyes opened to watch him. He was angry. And he was taking his anger out on the snakes that attacked them. With one punch each, just like the first one, the remaining two snakes were gone and Franky was now lying on the deck of the Sunny, gratefully kissing the wooden floor. She saw his lips move, but couldn't make out what the cyborg was saying. The world around her then faded to black.

…

" _Oh La Lalu, Oh La Lalu_

 _Oh, my little star keeper_

 _He'll gather up the stardust for you_

 _Oh La Lalu, Oh La Lalu_

 _Little soft wish maker_

 _Here comes the star key for you_

 _Oh La Lalu, Oh La Lalu_

 _Little sweet star sprites are dancing just for you_

 _So trust in him, let him help_

 _Oh La Lalu, Oh La Lalu_

 _And his love be your keeper_

 _Oh La Lalu, La Lalu, La Lalu"_

 _"Sing it again, mother!"_

 _"Again? That's the tenth time I've sang it to you."_

 _"But I want to hear it again. I love this song!"_

 _"I'm glad you like it. It is a very special song."_

 _"It's special?"_

 _"That's right."_

 _"How is it special?"_

 _"It's special because it belongs to you. It's your song, Zerina. Always remember it. It can help you. Zerina…Zerina…"_

"Zerina?"

 _Who is it? Who's there?_

"Zerina! Please wake up!"

 _I know that voice._

"Calm down, Luffy. She's fine. She just got the wind knocked out of her. She just needs a minute to wake up."

"Zerina?!"

"Will you stop shouting, you idiot?! Chopper said she was fine! Just give her a minute to wake up fully!" Nami snapped.

Zerina slowly opened her eyes. The faces of the Straw Hats were the first things to come clear in her vision. Chopper smiled at her. "Don't move too quickly. Just take it easy. Everything is just fine. Does anything hurt? Even just a little bit?"

"Uh." Zerina blinked. It took her a couple seconds to put the doctor's words together in her head. She then focused on her body. Everything felt find, more or less. She felt stiff and sore, but thought she was fine. "Y-Yeah…I'm okay. Nothing hurts too much."

"That's good," Chopper said. "Try sitting up now."

Zerina moved her arms so she could push up on them. Slowly, she raised herself up. When up right, she paused to see if anything hurt. Before she could think much on it, Luffy threw his arms around her neck and cried. "I wuz zo vorried bot ou!"

"Luffy! Don't grab onto her like that!" Chopper shouted. "She could still be hurt!"

"I'm okay, Chopper," Zerina replied. She wrapped one arm around Luffy and patted his back. "I think I just got the wind knocked out of me more than anything. How are you, Franky? You had the worst of it."

"Nay. It wasn't really that bad," Franky said with a smile. "It was a bit weird being eaten by a snake, but over all not bad. I didn't feel like I was being digested so I don't think they were real on the inside, if that makes any sense."

"What do you mean?" Usopp asked.

"It was like they were hollow on the inside. I was expecting slimy stuff, or something." Franky shrugged. "But nothing was there. It was almost like I was in a different world or something."

"Well, Zerina has said her wishes don't make sense," Robin said.

"What doesn't make sense is how Luffy was able to beat those snakes with that white glow around him," Zerina said thoughtfully. She looked down at the floor of the ship while continuing to pat him as he cried against her. She looked back up when she felt the strange looks the crew was giving her. "What?"

"What white glow are you talking about?" Brook asked. "I didn't see any white glow. But, then, I don't have eyes."

"I didn't see a white glow either," Nami added. "Just a very ticked off Luffy like always."

"You're kidding, right?" Zerina blinked. She looked them all over then forced Luffy off her shoulder. "Tell them, Luffy. You were glowing."

"What? I wasn't," Luffy replied through sniffles. "I was just angry. You probably just saw my steam and glow from Gear Two."

"Luffy, I've seen that before. It wasn't your Gear Two," Zerina insisted. Her lips turned down into a frown. "You were glowing _white_!"

"I think you might have hit your head a bit too hard. You were probably just seeing things," Chopper offered. He patted his hoof on Zerina's arm. "Its okay thought. You should just take it easy for the rest of the day. Try not to move around too much. Luffy, you should take her inside now. Sanji will bring you your meals in bed. Is that okay, Sanji?"

Sanji puffed on his cigarette before answering. "You're the doctor. If it's meals in bed for Zerina then it's meals in bed for Zerina."

"That's really not-" Zerina started, but was cut off by Luffy.

"Chopper's our doctor, _Zerina_." Zerina flinched at Luffy using her full name. She knew he was either dead serious or scared when he says her full name. And she knew better than to argue with him. "If he says you are to stay in bed, then you're staying in bed."

"All right, Luffy." Zerina caved immediately. She then looked around. "Wait…Where are my weapons?"

"Oh, um…" Zerina looked up when Usopp choked out his words. He was holding her now broken, completely in half, bo staff and bow. "They kinda got broken."

"Just great," Zerina groaned. She knew her bo staff was broke, but she didn't realize she had thrown her bow too hard and broke it as well.

"Don't worry about it," Luffy said while pulling Zerina in his arms bridal style. "Usopp can make you some new ones. Right, Usopp?"

"Aye Aye! Captain!" Usopp chirped. "I'm the best weapons craftsman after all! I'll have her new weapons in no time at all!"

"That's really not necessary," Zerina protested as Luffy stood up with her.

"Of course it is, Rina!" Luffy smiled. "Did you forget? You're a pirate now! You have to have some kind of weapon for defense! Plus, imagine what your dad would say if you went around weaponless!"

Zerina shivered as her mind snapped back to her Uncle Benn. She nodded rapidly at the sniper. "Please! I beg you to make me new ones! If I have to, I'll pay you back someday, somehow!"

Usopp laughed. "Don't worry about it. Payment isn't necessary. I'm happy to help out a fellow crewmate. I'll get started on them right now. Hopefully I can get them done within a few days. You sure need them in our crew."

"Thanks, Usopp," Zerina said. Luffy then turned and carried her into the Sunny. He sat her down on her bed and sat down himself. "What?"

"Are you okay?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine," Zerina said with a shrug. She dropped her eye to her lap and fiddled with her fingers. "I'm use to it. It just happens. There's nothing that can be done about it. You know that."

Zerina looked up when Luffy didn't say anything back. He was staring intently at her. Slowly, he nodded. "Okay. I'm here if you ever need to talk."

"I know, Lalu." Zerina reached up and ruffled up his hair. "I know."

…

Zerina woke up around two in the morning. Shockingly, she had been able to sleep a lot better since she visited her dad. And somehow she had feel asleep earlier than normal. Suddenly she was wide-awake, restless and thirsty. She groaned. "I hate when I do this."

She glanced over at her two roommates. They were still sound asleep so her groan didn't wake them. She shoved her blanket off her and silently left the room. Avoiding who ever was on look out duty tonight, Zerina made her way into the kitchen. She gulped down two cups of water before leaving the room. Having been in bed for the majority of the day yesterday, she didn't feel like going back to her shared room yet. Instead, she quietly wandered around the inside of the Sunny for some exercise in hopes it will relax her restless muscles.

While she walked, the Sunny's interior faded from her eyes. All she could think about is how she could have killed the crew yesterday. Her heart raced at the thought of them all dying because of her inability to control her _curse_. She bit her bottom lip as tears welled up in her eyes. She wiped the back of her arm over her eyes in an attempt to stop the tears. She couldn't. They fell anyway despite her desire for them not to. She tried to distract herself by singing her mother's song.

"Oh La Lalu, Oh La Lalu

Oh, my little star keeper

He'll gather up the stardust for you

Oh La Lalu, Oh La Lalu

Little soft wish maker

Here comes the star key for you

Oh La Lalu, Oh La Lalu

Little sweet star sprites are dancing just for you

So trust in him, let him help

Oh La Lalu, Oh La Lalu

And his love be your keeper

Oh La Lalu, La Lalu, La Lalu"

"Oh La Lalu, Oh La Lalu

Oh, my little star keeper

He'll gather up the stardust for you

Oh La Lalu, Oh La Lalu

Little soft wish maker

Here comes the star key for…. **WHAM!**

Zerina pulled back her fist and slammed it into the walls of the Solider Dock System that she wasn't even aware she was in. She pulled back her fist and struck the wall again. Again and again and again she punched the wall as tears streamed down her cheeks. She pulled her fist back again. She went to slam her fist into the wall, yet again, but found she couldn't. He was holding her back from hurting herself farther. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"You stupid, idiot," Luffy said softly. He pulled her into his chest and held her tight. "When are you going to learn? You don't have to face this on your own. You don't have to be so stubborn. You're with me now. Let me take care of you. Let me help you."

"I could have killed your crew today," Zerina choked out. "I could have killed you all."

"No, that was just a slip of the lip."

Zerina jerked away from him. She glared through her tear filled eyes. She clenched her fists as her body shook. "A _slip_ of the lip that could have _killed you_! I could have _killed you all_! I'm not stable enough to be around you! I shouldn't have come here!"

Zerina's body jerked at her words and at the hurt she saw in Luffy's eyes. She flinched when that sadness turned to anger. He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her against the wall with enough force to make her gasp, but not hard enough to hurt her. Shadows fell over his eyes as he leaned to her ear. His tone was harsher than she had ever heard him use before. But there was also an underlying tone of fear.

"You are upset. So I'll let what you just said slide… _this time_. But I don't _ever, ever_ want to hear you say that again." Zerina shivered at his tone and the warm breath he sent over her sensitive skin. "You _are_ a part of my crew now. You are _forbidden_ to leave it and me. If you do, I will hunt you down and drag you back here _myself_. The crew is not upset with you. They understand. They'll be more careful in the future. I promise. They're not going to get hurt. You're not going to get hurt."

Zerina blinked at Luffy pulled away from her. His eyes were now soft and gentle as he stared at her. It made her heart pound erratically. That pounding increased as Luffy leaned to her. Closing the distance between them, he whispered. "Stop being so stubborn and let me protect you."

Zerina's chest exploded with warmth as Luffy's lips descended upon hers. The warmth of his lips mixed with the warmth coming from her chest. They spread out over her body. Her hands seemed to rise up on their own and clenched the back of his vest. Her eyes seemed to close on their own as her lips kissed him back. Her mind tried to short out. She knew she should think about this. About the kiss. About her and Luffy. About how she wanted to just kiss him back. She wanted to let herself be vulnerable around him. But she didn't want to. She knew Luffy didn't know what this would mean, or should mean. She couldn't do this. She had to stop him.

Zerina forced her eyes to open. She moved her hands from his back and slipped them over his stomach, his very toned stomach…She mentally slapped herself. _No! Don't think about that! Push him away!_ She continued to move her hands up his stomach to his well toned chest…She mentally slapped herself again and forced her hands to keep moving until they were placed firmly on his shoulders. She was about to push him away when a familiar, tiny voice in the back of her head stopped her. " _Let him help."_

 _That voice…It was so tiny…I know that voice. But who's voice was that?_ Once again Zerina's hands started to move on their own. They moved passed Luffy's shoulders and her arms wrapped around his neck. She kissed him back. He trailed his hands down from her shoulders and over her arms, making her shiver, until his arms were firmly around her waist. He pulled her closer to him as they angled their heads to get better access to each other. They broke apart just enough to suck in some much needed air before locking their lips together again. She groaned into the kiss when Luffy ran his warm tongue over her tingling lips. She hesitated for a split second before granting him entrance. She choked back a moan that was threatening to escape her throat as he searched her mouth with his tongue. His tongue, Zerina noticed, seemed to be just as strong as everything else on him. They broke apart temperately to refill their lungs before angling their heads once more then locking into another kiss.


	10. Confusion

Confusion

Zerina groaned slightly as her mind started to wake up and registered the hard ground she was laying on. She cracked her eyes opened and looked around the Solider Dock System. She blinked in confusion while trying to remember why she was here instead of her bed in Robin and Nami's room. She shifted and felt a strange mass lying across her stomach. Pushing up on her arms, she looked down to find an arm lying across her body. Turning her head, she found Luffy lying right beside her, snoring softly and completely oblivious to their current position.

"Crap," Zerina hissed under her breath. Her memories of last night hammered her brain. Luffy had kissed her. And not just any normal, simple peck on the lips or cheek he does occasionally, he had _seriously kissed_ her. A deep kiss with tongues, moans and everything. And she had kissed him back. Running her hand over her face, she groaned. They didn't just kiss, they had a full blown make out session.

She strummed her fingers on her forehead and tried to remember what exactly they did last night. She looked down at their bodies. Their clothes were still on so she knew they didn't cross the line. But what happened after their make out session? She knew she didn't tell Luffy the truth about Hydra. She ran her hand over her face again with another groan. _Maybe we just kissed until we fell asleep? But why? I didn't even know Luffy knew how to kiss like that._

Zerina pressed her fingers to her lips. She felt her face and chest grow warm at the memories of his kiss. _I wasn't going to kiss him. I was going to push him away, but I stopped. I stopped when I heard a little voice. That voice sounded familiar. But where have I heard it before? And why would they want me to let Luffy help me? Are they insane? Luffy could get killed if he helped me with Hydra._

Zerina scratched her head. She winced when pain shot through her hand. She looked down at her black, blue and red knuckles. "Well, I remember _that_ clearly."

She sighed and looked to the spot she had punched. There was no damage. She sighed with relief. "At least I'm not strong enough to do damage to the ship with my own hands. Franky would not have like that. Let's see…"

Zerina took a deep breath and closed her eyes. With several deep breaths she cleared her mind and started to recall everything that happened last night.

 _They broke apart for a few seconds before locking their lips back together. Luffy circled his hands on Zerina's hips before pushing her back against the wall. He squeezed her hips while shoving his tongue back through her lips, searching all the dark corners of her mouth before retracting his muscle and began trailing kisses down to her neck. Zerina bit back a groan as he landed on her sensitive spot. She dragged her nails over Luffy's shoulder, wanting to dig into him, but she didn't. She just rubbed her hands on his shoulders while trying not to let herself fall into a groaning mess. Suddenly, Luffy stopped sucking on her neck. She shivered as his warm breath washed over her skin._

 _When he tugged on her hips, she followed his lead. The two laid down on the floor. Luffy wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to his chest. Pecking her forehead, he said, "I told you to come to me. I'll forgive you this time. But the next time, you better come to me."_

 _"Sorry, Luffy…It's just…" Zerina whispered. She closed her eyes. Breathing in his scent, she took the time to notice how safe she suddenly felt lying in his arms like this. She took a deep breath. She opened her eyes and looked at him. A sweat drop slid down her head when she noticed he was sound asleep._

"Oh." Zerina opened her eyes. With a frustrated growl, she rubbed her now throbbing forehead. "Of course. Leave it to Luffy to fall asleep like that."

"Shut up. I'm sleeping," Luffy whined, making Zerina jump. She turned to look at him from over her shoulder only to find he was still asleep.

"Luffy?" Zerina tapped his arm that was around her. "Wake up."

More snoring was his only response. She struggled against his hold until she was finally sitting up. She tapped his arm again. "Come on, Lalu. Wake up."

"No," Luffy grumbled. Zerina gasped when he wrapped his arm around her three times and pulled her down to his chest.

"Luffy! Let go of me!" Zerina demanded. She grabbed Luffy's hand and tried to pry it off of her. "Wake up!"

"My meat!" Luffy mumbled back, tightening his hold even more on her.

"Luffy, I'm not you-Eek!" Zerina squeaked when Luffy ran the tip of his tongue along the back of her neck. "L-Luffy!"

"Mmm…You taste good, Rina," Luffy said before licking her neck again. He then started placing kisses along her neck, making her shiver.

"Ugh! Luffy!" Zerina snapped, trying not to let herself get lost in how good it felt for him to touch her like this, to hold her the way he was. But she knew he had no clue what he was doing. He was a sleep and thinking she was a piece of meat.

"I think I heard something in the Solider Dock System," Usopp's muffled voice said from the hall.

"Maybe it's Luffy and Zerina," Chopper's equally muffled voice said.

"What would they be doing down here?" Usopp asked.

"And now I'm going to get caught," Zerina grumbled. She tried to free herself from Luffy's grasped, but had no luck. The guy just wasn't going to let her go no matter what she did or said. "Thanks a lot, Luffy!"

She froze, her face grew hot, when Usopp and Chopper opened the door. Her heart pounded hard in her chest with sharp jolts. She had no clue what they were going to say or think about her bring wrapped up in their captain's arms. Chopper smiled. "There you two are. We've been looking all over for you."

"What are you two doing down here?" Usopp asked.

"Hey! What happened to your hand?!" Chopper shrieked. He ran over to Zerina and picked up her right hand in his hooves. "Oh my gosh! Did those snakes do this to you?! I didn't see it before!"

Zerina swallowed hard. Time to fess up. "Well, no they didn't do it. I did."

"What? Why would you do that to yourself?" Usopp asked.

"I was…upset." Zerina turned her eyes away from the pirates. She bit her bottom lip and tried to get herself to just tell them.

"Oh, I get it," Usopp then said. Zerina looked up at him. He was nodding like he really did understand her, but she knew that was impossible. He had no clue what she was talking about. "You're upset because of that whole wish mess yesterday."

"Yeah." Zerina nodded. At least that part he did understand and know about.

"You don't have to worry about it," Usopp said with a smile. Zerina watch him while Chopper bandaged up her injured hand. "We all know you didn't mean it. We also gave Zoro one heck of a talking to about making accidental wishes like that. It won't happen again."

"That's right. We're all going to be a lot more careful from now on." Chopper smiled at her. "And if Zoro ever speaks before he thinks again, I'll sedate him for an entire month."

"Uh…" Zerina blinked in confusion.

"And let me guess…" Usopp leaned over Luffy's still sleeping form. "He came to check on you, you two talked about it and he was being stubborn about something and refused to let you go causing you to sleep down here with him."

"Yeah." Zerina nodded. She glanced at Luffy from the corner of her eye. Her mind and heart racing over their kiss last night. She hoped her face wasn't red anymore. "Something like that."

"That figures." Usopp sighed. "He's got such a one track mind."

"That's Luffy for you," Chopper added with a small giggle. "There. Your hand's all bandaged up. Just don't punch anything or anyone with that hand for a while."

Zerina glanced at her now bandaged hand. She wiggled her fingers. The bandage was comfortably hugging her hand. She lowered her hand to the floor. She surveyed Luffy's arm around her then looked back at the other two pirates. She said, "Thanks a lot, Chopper. I'll try not to hit anything for a while. Uh…Do you think you two could possible wake him up? I really, _really_ would like to get up from the floor now."

"Oh sure. I know just the thing to get him to let you go," Usopp replied. He stepped over to the pirate captain. Zerina watched as he cupped his hands over his mouth. He then shouted, "Hey! Luffy! Sanji made meat for breakfast! You better get up if you want some!"

"Meat!" Luffy bellowed as he bolted right up. His arm unraveled from Zerina's body. He then jumped to his feet and ran out of the room, leaving a trail of dust in his wake.

"Why didn't I think of that?" Zerina grumbled to herself. "That was the obvious solution."

"Don't worry about it. Luffy often has the ability to drain comprehensive thoughts from people," Usopp said. Chopper nodded wildly in agreement. "Sanji's about got breakfast ready. Let's go. I bet your hungry."

Zerina only nodded. She had to admit that she was hungry. She pushed up to her feet and followed the two pirates out of the room. She headed for the bathroom. "I'll be right there."

"Okay!" They called back before going their separate ways. Zerina hurried up towards the bathroom to preform her morning routine. Before leaving the small room, she splashed water on her face. Dabbing her face with the towel, she paused to look at herself in the mirror. Her cheeks flushed when her mind slipped back to their kiss.

"This is just so messed up." Sighing, she hung the towel up and left the room. She slowly made her way to the galley where all the Straw Hats were happily chatting, partly arguing, while eating breakfast.

"What's the big deal?" Luffy asked. "She needed me last night! And I was there for her!"

"Being there for her is one thing," Usopp said.

"Squeezing her half to death while sleeping is another," Chopper added. "Be more careful next time. Her hand is injured."

"I didn't squeeze her that hard!" Luffy protested with a mouthful of food.

"Don't talk with your mouth full!" Sanji shouted with a smack to the captain's head. Zerina flinched when the cook turned his eyes to her. She shifted on her feet and wondered if he knew that something else happened between her and Luffy last night. He was more observant than the rest of the crew. "You better hurry up and grab some breakfast before this boneheaded captain eats it all."

"Uh, right." Zerina nodded. She walked over to the table and sat down. She glanced around at the pirates before her eyes settled on Luffy. She wondered what he thought about last night. She wondered why he did that last night. And she wondered if she should talk to him about it. She blinked when the Straw Hat captain smiled brightly at her. Despite her worries, she smiled back.

"Hey, Zer!" Nami called.

"Hm?" Zerina pulled her eyes from Luffy and looked at the navigator.

"We're going to be docking at an island later today. Robin, Chopper and I are going to go shopping," Nami said with a smile. "Do you want to come with us? You still need to get some new clothes, right?"  
"Yeah." Zerina looked down at her Amazon Lily bikini. She had expectantly grew accustom to the outfits, but still wanted to be back in regular clothes. "It'll be nice to be back in clothes that's more suited to my style."

"That's great," Nami said while Robin and Chopper nodded.

…

Zerina sighed to herself. She was staring down at the ground as she walked long the small town they were in. Robin, Nami and Chopper were beside her talking about what she wasn't sure. The doctor was in his full reindeer form and carrying some of the women's bags and boxes. The three friends were chatting happily. She tried to focus on the things they were saying and tried to interact with them, but it wasn't coming naturally today.

It didn't help her that she hadn't been able to focus all day anyway. All she could think of was her make out session she had with Luffy last night. Part of her wanted to talk to him about it. She felt so confused about everything. She thought that it would help to talk about it. Surely these two women could give her advice on the kiss and Luffy, even a little bit would help, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. She had watched him secretly all day long, until they got to this island and split up that is. She could tell at all what he thought about the kiss. Did he regret it? Did he want to talk about it? Did he want _her_ to talk about it? Did he want to do it again? She couldn't tell what was on his mind. He was just the same old Luffy happily bouncing around the ship and causing problems for his crew. It was almost like he forgotten he kissed her.

"Zer, are you okay? Hey! Zerina?!"

"Huh?" Zerina looked up when she finally heard Nami's voice breaking into her deep thoughts. "What?"  
"Are you okay?" Nami asked again.

"Of course. Why?" Zerina blinked.

"You've been in a daze all day long," Nami said.

"Are you still worried about that wish incident?" Robin asked before Zerina could say anything. Chopper looked up her with his curious, innocent eyes and blinked.

"No, not really." Zerina looked away from the three pirates. She could feel their stares on her. She gripped her bags tightly, sighed and turned back to them. "Maybe I am still a bit worried. It's just a natural thing for people to say I insert that word and insert whatever they want. If I could stop this ability of mine, I would do it. I don't want to hurt any of you."

"You're not going to hurt us," Chopper said. "If it happens again, which it won't, we'll take care of it just like we did that last time. We're a tough crew. And Luffy's the strongest of us all. He won't let anything happen to you or us."

"Yeah." Zerina dropped her eyes down to the ground. Without realizing it she started to chew on her bottom lip.

"Was there something else you wanted to talk about?" Robin asked. Zerina looked up at the older woman. Like always, the dark haired woman held an unreadable smiled on her face.

"Uh." Zerina felt her body twitch. Robin, without a doubt, was the smartest Straw Hat. It made Zerina wonder if Robin made a simple guess at what happened between her and Luffy last night. But was that even possible? All Usopp and Chopper knew was they were asleep together on the floor. And there were no marks on her skin, other than her damage hand, to reveal that something did happen last night. She wondered if she was just imaging things because she was so worried about it all.

"There is something, isn't there?" Nami asked.

"What is it?" Chopper asked. "You know you can talk to us about anything. We're very good listeners."

"Oh, well…" Zerina chewed on her lip. She narrowed her eyebrows. Her mind spun wildly to the point it almost made her nauseous. She could handle Hydra on her own since she lived there. She knew what to expect from them. But this whole thing with Luffy was too much, too new, too confusing. She couldn't take it anymore. She wanted to tell them, about the kiss at least. She was going to tell them. She parted her lips to ask them about Luffy and the kiss. "Well, there is something-"

 _ **Wham!**_

Suddenly, something huge dropped out of the sky and landed right in front of them. Whatever it was, scattered up the dirt. When the dirt settled, people paused to look at the unexpected intruder. It was around ten feet tall, sleek, purplish silver in color, human shaped, but no human features like eyes, nose, mouth and ears.

"What the heck is that thing?!" Nami demanded.

"Is it a human?" Chopper asked with wide, scared eyes. "Or is it a different kind of Pacifista?!"

"Pacifista?" Zerina asked. "Oh, that robot type thing that attacked you all on Sabaody."

"Yeah. But this doesn't look like it's either robot or human," Robin replied. "We don't even know if it's friendly or not."

"When has anything that's dropped out of the sky like _that_ ever been _friendly_?!" Chopper shouted.

"Well, maybe its-" Nami started to speak. She was cut off when the thing, with striking speed, through a punch at the group.

"Move!" Zerina shouted. They all dodged out of the way, but just barely.

Nami rolled to a stop. "Not friendly! So not friendly!"

The group dropped their shopping bags and pulled out their defense weapons. Zerina reached behind her when the creature turned to her. She gasped. "Oh crap! I forgot my weapons were broke! And Usopp hasn't finished up with my new ones yet!"

The creature threw another punch at her. She jumped away from it, but it clipped her hip, sending a sheering pain of heat through her skin and sent her spinning. She crashed to the ground. Before she lifted herself up the creature had charged at her again. Summon all the speed she could, she forced herself to jump to her feet. She barely dodged the thing as its fist came down on the spot she was just laying. She tried to look around for a possible weapon, but there was nothing. All she had was her body and her haki. She knew that wasn't going to be enough. This creature's speed was too fast. Still she tried. She embedded her fists with haki while she dodged the creature's punches. When she got the chance, she jumped towards the creature's head and slammed her fist into it.

"What the heck?!" Zerina gasped when her punch didn't even move the thing's head at all. A shiver ran down her spine when the thing looked at her. Or when she assumed it looked at her. It was hard to tell when it didn't have eyes. She pushed off of the thing just before it could grab her. She gasped when it swung its leg at her. She didn't have time to dodge it.

Suddenly, a lightning bolt stuck down on the creature, seemingly freezing it in place. Zerina took the time to quickly move away from it, silently thanking Nami for the assistance.

"Zerina! Look out!" Chopper cried out as he ran towards Zerina and the creature. The lightning bolt didn't stop it at all.

"Gigantesco Mano!" Zerina heard Robin call out seconds before the giant woman's hands grabbed the creature. She heard faint sizzling while steam rose off the creature where Robin's giant hands were. "Ouch! It's so hot!"

Robin, against her will, released the creature. It continued its assault on Zerina. Hitting her with its large hand, sending her flying backwards. Zerina heard the faint cries of the three Straw Hats just before she felt something digging into the scar on her back and her right wrist snap. She crumpled to the ground.

"Zerina! Kung Fu Point!" Chopper shouted. Zerina struggled to lift her eyes to the reindeer. She watched him transform and attack the thing before her. He landed several blows to the thing, none effective, before getting swatted away himself.

The creature turned back to Zerina. Pain shot through her back and arm when she tried to move. The creature pulled back its fist. Zerina closed her eyes as it swung at her and screamed. "Luffy!"

Suddenly, a loud crunching sound filled the air. She opened her eyes. A small gasp left her lips when she saw Sanji's foot was embedded into the creature's head. Its head was smashed several feet into its body. Sanji jumped away from the thing and landed right in front of her. With one hand in his pocket and the one on his cigarette, he asked, "Someone wanna tell me that heck that thing is?"

"Sanji!" Chopper and Nami cried with tears running down their cheeks. Robin was standing beside them with a calm expression on her face.

"Sanji…" Zerina whispered as she stared at his back.

He tossed her a look over his shoulder. "You okay?"

"Uh." Zerina blinked, almost unaware that he asked her a question. "Yeah. Sorta. I think my wrist is broken."

"Don't move then," Sanji said, turning back to the creature. "I'll take it from-Huh?"

Zerina pulled her eyes from the blonde man. She narrowed her eyebrows in confusion when the creature turned into a sparkling dust and just disappeared before their eyes. Sanji turned back to Zerina. He asked, "What the heck was that about?"

"Uh." Zerina blinked. She didn't have a clue.

"Sanji!" Nami cried as they ran over to them.

"Are you all okay?" Sanji asked.

"We're fine," Nami replied. "We're so glad you're here."

"Zerina!" Chopper ran over to her.

"Chopper," Zerina said, "I think my wrist is broken."

"Yeah." Chopper nodded. He looked over her body. "I smell blood too. Did you get cut somewhere?"

"No. It did burn my skin, somehow," Zerina said. She looked down at her left hip. The skin was wrinkle, red and oozing blood. _I'm also bleeding on my back. But how can I tell him that without having to explain my scar? I'll just have to take care of that injury later. At least my hair is long enough to hide the blood dripping down my back._

"Someone wanna tell me what's going on?" Sanji asked.

"I'll explain on the way back to the Sunny. I need to tend to Zerina's wounds properly," Chopper said. He looked over at their scattered shopping bags. "We also need to pick up our stuff."

"We'll do that, Chopper," Robin said. "You take care of Zerina for now."

"Right." Chopper nodded. He then looked up at Sanji. "Can you carry her?"

"That's not necessary," Zerina said. She wanted to stand up, but Chopper was splinting her wrist with two sticks that he found nearby and bandaged her wrist the best he could.

"Listen to the doctor," Sanji said in a sharp, warning tone. He kneeled down. Zerina shifted when she felt his eyes inspecting her injured hip. "You're bleeding. That needs to be taken care of before it gets infected. It's no problem at all for me to carry you. You ready, Chopper?"

"Yeah." Chopper nodded. "Just be careful. Try not to jostle her around too much."

"Right." Sanji nodded. Zerina opened her mouth to protest, but quickly closed it. She knew it wouldn't do any good. So she let him pick her up, wincing at the pain in her body as he did. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Zerina replied, keeping her eyes from his. The group of three then proceeded to head back to the ship. Zerina looked back over Sanji's shoulder as he moved her away from the area and as Chopper filled the blonde cook in on what just happened. _What was that thing? And why did it constantly go after me? It couldn't have been from Hydra. There are no creatures or machines like that back there. So where did that thing come from? Was it just a coincident that it kept coming for me?_

…

"Zerina!" Luffy shouted when he busted into Chopper's small doctor's office. Zerina barely got a chance to look up at him, and the rest of the crew who followed behind him, before the young man plowed into her, knocking her back onto the bed and causing pain to shoot through the stab wound on her back that she successfully hid from Chopper. Tears streamed down the captain's face as he rubbed his cheek against hers. "Nami and Robin told me you were hurt!"

"I'm okay, Luffy," Zerina gasped out from his tight hug. "Just a broken wrist and some burnt skin. Sanji arrived just in time to stop it before it did any real damage."

"I'm so glad!" Luffy pulled away from her.

"Be careful, Luffy!" Chopper shouted. He whacked his captain over his head. "I just bandaged her up! She needs time to heal!"

"It's fine, Chopper," Zerina replied. She patted Luffy on the head when he tucked his face into her shoulder. "The painkillers you gave me are working just fine."

"Well, all right." Chopper nodded. "If anything hurts, or if anything else pops up, just let me know."

"I will," Zerina nodded.

"Sorry," Usopp suddenly said. "I didn't get your weapons done on time. This wouldn't have happen if you had them. I'll be sure to finish them tonight."

"No." Zerina shook her head at the upset sniper. "I don't think they would have helped anyway. That thing was crazy strong. None of my haki embedded attacks did anything. I'm just glad that Sanji showed up in time and stopped it."

"And no one has a clue as to where this thing came from?" Franky asked. "It just up and appeared then disappeared once Sanji smashed it?"

"It was weird," Nami said.

"Perhaps it was just some new Pacifista design," Chopper suggested.

"With no one from the navy watching over it?" Brook asked. "That doesn't seem right."

"It doesn't," Robin said. She crossed her arms over her chest and raised one hand to her chin in thought. "Perhaps it belong to someone else, broke free and just attacked Zerina at random? Maybe it was preprogrammed to go after someone else and thought Zerina was its target?"

"Does it really matter?" Zerina asked before more questions could be asked. They all turned to her. "I mean, it's over, right? And that thing disappeared. It's not like we're going to get answers here anyway."

"She's got a point," Franky said. "Let's just let it go instead of obsessing over it. If it happens again, then we can obsess over it."

"Might as well," Brook said as he and the others agreed then left the room. The only ones who remained were Zerina, Luffy and Sanji.

Zerina raised her eyes to the cook. She could tell his mind was going over the events of the day, but she couldn't tell exactly what he was thinking. Before she could say anything, the man headed for the door. He turned his head a bit. "Take care of those wounds like Chopper said. Luffy won't be happy if you get an infection."

"Uh, right." Zerina nodded. Sanji nodded then left the room. She looked down at the black haired man who was still clinging to her and crying. "Geez. Come one, Lalu. I'm fine. How about some meat?"

"Yeah!" Luffy pulled off of her shoulder with a smile. "Rina! I wish for meat! Just make it one large one this time!"

"You got it." Zerina laughed. She started to glow and granted his typical wish for meat. He grabbed the bone sticking out of the steaming meat before grabbing her hand. She had no choice but to follow him. So she pushed off the bed and left the room with him. He led her out onto the deck and pulled her down beside him when he sat down on the bench around the mass. _Guess I'll just have to take care of my back later. At least it stopped bleeding. Any blood Chopper might smell can be attributed to the wound on my hip._

Zerina sighed. She looked up at the blue sky just as the wind started blow. Her mind going over and over that creature they just fought and wondering where it came from. _Things just keep getting more and more confusing._

…

 **Shadowlein: Glad ya like it. It's only a matter of time before they find out everything. Sorry it's taking so long to update this story. It just doesn't want to be written. And it doesn't help I get too distracted by my Neo x Law fic.**

 **MacheSalas: I suppose he is a bit out of character. But it does work within the story so I'm good with it. He needs to be that way ;) Hee hee. This whole OC keeping a secret is harder to write than I thought it would be.**


	11. Sanji & Zerina

Sanji & Zerina

Zerina was sitting on the bench that circled around the mass of the ship, listening to Brook's soft violin music. Her fingers twitched at the pain settling back into her broken wrist. A sigh passed her lips as she lean her head back against the mass. She stared up at the sky, lost in thought about a week ago when she obtained her broke wrist and at how powerful that thing was and where it possible came from, until Usopp's shadow cast over her. He held up the bo staff, bow and arrows. "Hey, Zeri, I've got your weapons finished. Again, I'm so sorry for not getting them done sooner."

Zerina placed her hand over her broken wrist when the sniper's gaze fell upon it. "Thank you. And don't worry about it. This wasn't your fault. It could have happened even if I had my weapons. That thing was insanely powerful. I'm just glad that all I got out of that battle is a broken wrist. It could have been much worse. I'm also glad that Sanji was close enough to help us."

Zerina looked up at Sanji when he passed by, locking eyes for a split second. He shrugged. "No big deal. I'm glad to assist my crew whenever they need me. I'm also glad that you didn't get seriously hurt."

"Thanks." Zerina twitched nervously. She really didn't know what to say to Sanji. They weren't friends so communicating with him was fairly difficult and uneasy at times. She wished there was some way to break the ice with him. Not necessarily to be friends, but to at least get passed all this tension that's between them. But she had no clue how to actually make that happen without revealing everything to him.

"Yeah. Sure." Sanji waved his hand in the air as he walked on without another look in Zerina's direction.

"What's up with you two?" Usopp asked as he sat down beside Zerina on the bench.

"Nothing. Why?" Zerina asked casually.

"I've just been noticing some tension between you two recently," Usopp said.

"Oh, it's nothing. We still don't know each other after all," Zerina replied. She gave the sniper a smile. "It's fine. I never expected to become friends with all of you. It's not realistic to think everyone on a ship or in the same crew is going to get along all the time."

"That's true." Usopp nodded. He glanced over at Sanji, who was entering into the kitchen, then over at Zoro, who was taking a nap like always. "Those two practically never get a long."

"But they come together when they are needed," Zerina added. "And that's what counts. Right? He came to my aid when I needed him because we're on the same crew whether we get along or not."

"You're right." Usopp nodded. "Here, let me show you how your weapons work so you can use them when your wrist is healed."

"Great." Zerina looked down at the weapons he had.

"Made of quality metal, I designed your bow staff to divide in two pieces. This is the belt that goes with it. You can hang the pieces on the sides at your hips. This way it's shorter and won't hit on things," Usopp explained while demonstrating how the bars attached to the belt and how they fit together. He twirled the staff then separated them and put them back on the belt.

"That's handy. A long bo staff does cause problems occasionally," Zerina said with a nod.

"And this is your bow and arrows. I created the arrow holder so you can attach the bow to it and carry it around that way. The bow is extremely lightweight, but very durable. It folds up here in these two places so you can easily carry it around too." Usopp folded up the bow then unfolded it. He then folded it back up and attached it to the arrow pack. "Currently you have thirty arrows. I have more in storage whenever you need them. And, if possible, try to reclaim the arrows when you shoot them. Since we can go weeks before landing on another island for supplies, it would be best if you can retrieve all the arrows you fire off. But I don't want you to go out of your way to get them, especially if there's an enemy around."

"Not a problem, Usopp. I understand." Zerina smiled. She lightly twisted her arm when her broken wrist started hurting more. "I'll try and save as many as I possible can. I'll use my bow staff more often than my arrows to help save them that way too. That is…when I can use my wrist again. I can fight a little bit with the bo staff using my left hand, but it won't be to much effect even with my haki. It's a shame I broke my dominant wrist instead of my weaker one."

"Don't worry about it, Rina!" Luffy said as he swung himself over from the figurehead of the ship. Landing on the bench, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek, sending her heart rate into a fluttering mess. "I'll be here to protect you in any fights we might encounter while your wrist is broken."

"And that's going to be a lot of protection," Nami said as she walked down the stairs. She walked over to Luffy and pinched his cheek and pulled it towards her. She then looked at Zerina. "He gets us into so much trouble. And it happens a lot. Be prepared for him to protect you often."

Zerina laughed when Nami released Luffy's cheek. It snapped back to the rubber man, causing his head to shake multiple times. "I'm not that bad!"

"Yes! You! Are!" Every single Straw Hat pirate shouted, but for Robin, Luffy and Zerina. Sanji stuck his head back out of the kitchen, Zoro woke up from his nap, Robin just looked up from her book, Brook stopped playing his violin, Franky appeared from wherever he was inside the ship and Chopper exited his doctor's room, Nami pinched Luffy's cheek again while Usopp whacked the captain over the head with Zerina's bo staff.

"You're king of getting us into trouble!" Nami shouted, shaking Luffy by the front of his shirt.

"That's right!" Usopp agreed as the orange haired woman pounded the dense captain.

"Oh right," Chopper then said. Zerina looked at the little reindeer. He was holding a cup of water and some painkillers in his hooves. "It's time for you painkillers. I have them right here."

"Thanks, Chopper," Zerina said. She took them from the doctor and swallowed them.

"Let me know if the pain get worse at any point in time," Chopper said.

"I will. But my wrist is healing just fine. It doesn't hurt as much as it did those first couple of days," Zerina said.

"That's good." Chopper nodded. "I'm glad you're feeling better. Have you figured out any idea of where the thing came from?"

Zerina twitched. "No. I have no clue where that thing could have possible come from."

"That's too bad," Chopper said with a sigh. "I wonder if there are anymore of them things out there."

Zerina chewed on her bottom lip while the Straw Hats engaged in another round of question what the thing was and where it came from. She looked up at the sky. _If it came from Hydra, there's plenty out there._

…

Zerina shoved her face in her pillow and groaned when pain shot through her back. The injury she received on her scar had increasingly became annoying in the past couple of days. It made her back feel hot and impossible to sleep on. She pushed up on her hands and sat up. Looking around the room, she noticed Robin and Nami were already up and dressed for the day. Robin smiled at her. "Good morning, Zerina."

"Morning," Zerina replied.

"Are you okay?" Nami asked.

"Yes. Why?" Zerina raised an eyebrow.

"It's nothing. You were just groaning in your sleep a bit," Nami replied. "You've overslept too. Is your wrist bothering you again?"

"Oh," Zerina drawled. _That must have been from the pain in my back._ "No…I just slept wrong, I guess. I'm a bit stiff."

"All right then. We're heading into town," Nami said with a smile. "You want to join us?"

"We've already docked at another island?" Zerina blinked.

"Yes. We actually arrived early this morning," Robin replied.

"Oh," Zerina said. "No. Not this time. I think I'm going to see what Luffy is up to. I might go with him."

"Okay. We'll catch up with you later then," Nami said as the two women headed out of their room.

Zerina pushed her blanket off her legs. She winced at the pain that stabbed in her back with each move she made. Somehow through the pain she managed to get dressed, only pausing for a second to look at her back in the mirror. The spot where she had hit was bright red. "Just great."

She slipped her shirt on and headed out of the room. In the hallway, she crossed paths with Sanji. "Oh, Zerina, I saved you some breakfast. It's in the fridge whenever you want it."

"Thanks, Sanji. I might eat it later. I don't feel like eating at the moment," Zerina replied.

"You feeling okay? You look a bit pale," Sanji asked as he took her expression in.

"I'm fine," Zerina replied with a light smile, hoping he wouldn't notice she was actually in pain. "I just didn't really sleep well last night."

"If you need something to sleep, I'm sure Chopper will give you something," The blonde offered.

"I'll be fine." Zerina shook her head. "I'm looking for Luffy. Have you seen him?"

"He was on the deck earlier," Sanji replied jerking his thumb behind him. "I'm heading into town now for supplies. See ya later."

"Sure." Zerina nodded as Sanji proceeded to head outside the ship. She followed after him and found that Luffy was still on the deck. She looked around. It seemed only he, Chopper and Usopp were the only ones left besides herself.

"Rina! About time you woke up!" Luffy cheered. He ran over to her and hugged her, causing several needle sharp stabs to pierce her skin when he hit her back. She bit back the pain as much as she could, but felt like she could pass out. "Let's go into town!"

"No, I think I'm going to stay on the ship this time," Zerina replied as she tried to discreetly pull Luffy off of her.

"Is something wrong?" Luffy asked, tilting his head.

"No, nothing's wrong. I just don't feel like going into town. I really don't need anything this time," Zerina replied.

"Aw, come on!" Luffy whined.

"Luffy, if she doesn't want to go then she doesn't want to go," Usopp said with a sigh. "She can always catch up with us later if she changes her mind."

"I guess so," Luffy said with a pout.

"Let's go." Usopp grabbed Luffy by the cheek and drug him towards the rope ladder.

"Hey! Let me go!" Luffy whined. "I can walk myself, you know?!"

"Yeah, yeah. Sure you can," Usopp replied in a tone filled with forced restraint. They type a parent uses when they've had it with their child's disobedient nature.

"Silly boy." Zerina smiled at the display. She flinched when she noticed Chopper staring intently at her. "Is something wrong?"

"No." Chopper tilted his head with worry in his eyes. "I just thought that I smelled a bit of an infection, but I guess not. No one has come to me with such an injury."

"It could be someone on the island," Zerina offered. "The smell could have floated on the breeze."

"You're right. See you later then, Zeri!" Chopper cried before dashing off the catch up with Luffy and Usopp.

"See ya." Zerina waved. She walked over to the railing of the ship. She watched as the three crewmates disappeared into the crowd of people before turning and heading for the bathhouse. She filled up the tub with steamy hot water while stripping herself of her clothes. She turned her back to the mirror. She wasn't sure, but her back looked even redder than it was before. "A bath will help. It has to."

Sighing, Zerina stepped away from the mirror. She climbed over the edge of the large tub and sank down in the hot water. A whimper escaped her lips when the hot water hit the wound. She closed her eyes and tried to force the pain away from her.

" _Let him help you. Don't be afraid. He can help. He can set you free."_

"It's that voice again. But who is it? Who are you? Why is this so hard? Why is this happening?" She wrapped her arms around herself and cried when the voice didn't speak again. "It's fine. It'll be okay. It has to be."

An hour and many tears later, Zerina finally pulled herself out of the water. She unplugged the drain and grabbed her towel off the towel hook. She wrapped it lightly around her body and stepped over to the mirror again. She groaned at the pain and the redness of her back. "Great. I think that bath just made it worse."

Before she could do or say anything else, the door to the bathhouse busted opened revealing the blonde haired cook. His face expression was angry and full of determination, but quickly changed to confusion then concern. Zerina stared at him and wondered why his expressions changed so quickly. He then narrowed his eyebrows. Her heart jerked when she noticed he wasn't looking at _her_ but at _her back_ in the reflection of the mirror. She tried to cover her back with the towel. But Sanji had somehow made it to her side within two steps. He grabbed the towel and jerked it down. "What the heck happened?!"

"Hey!" Zerina protested as she tried to keep herself covered from him. "Let go of me!"

"I asked you a question!" Sanji hissed. He stared at the infectious wound on her back. "I thought there was a thief on the ship! You said you were going into town with Luffy!"

"I said I was _looking_ for Luffy!" Zerina snapped back. "I never said I was going into town!"

"Whatever! Just tell me what happened to your back! It's infected!" Sanji shouted.

"It's none of your business! Now let me go!" Zerina jerked away from him. But with the fast reflexes he had, he easily grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the door of the bathhouse. "What are you doing?! Release me!"

"Not going to happen! That cut is infected! Why didn't you tell Chopper about this?!" Sanji demanded as he drug her all the way through the Sunny and into Chopper's doctor office. He pushed her down on the bed. "Now you sit right there and don't move!"

"I don't have to do what you tell me to do!" Zerina shot up to her feet and glared at the cook.

"Then I'm going to tell Luffy about your back and you can explain it to _him_!" Sanji shot back. Zerina flinched at his words. The two locked into a heated glare before she caved and dropped back down to the bed. "That's what I thought."

Sanji turned from her and started to look through Chopper's medical supplies until he found the correct one for infection. He then grabbed a couple cotton swabs and walked back over to Zerina. He sat down on the bed and uncapped the jar. "Lower your towel."

"No," Zerina replied flatly.

"Don't do this again. That injury is _infected_. Do you understand that? It needs this medication before it becomes serious," Sanji said in a more controlled voice than before. "If you don't lower that towel right now, I'm going to go get Luffy."

"Fine." Zerina turned her back to him. She lowered the towel just enough for him to apply the medication to her wound. She winced when the cool cream and swab hit the tender spot.

"Sorry," Sanji said softly. "I know it hurts."

Zerina didn't reply. A thick silence fell between the two as Sanji applied the cream and took in the larger scar. Zerina could feel his eyes wondering her back and his mind asking questions that his mouth hadn't formed yet. Minutes later, he finished up his work and recapped the jar. Setting it aside before sitting still again for a while. "So, you going to tell me what's up?"

Zerina didn't move. She didn't even pull the towel back up over her back. She just sat there with her hair over her shoulder and her eyes. Sanji sighed. Leaning his arms on his legs, he said, "Look I know we're not friends. But I am concerned about you. Something is clearly going on with you. I'm sure you have your reasons for hiding it from the crew, but it's clear that whatever is going on is something you can no longer handle on your own. That infected injury is obviously a result of the battle you were in on that last island. But that scar is not that recent. It looks like you've had that one for a while. And, if I'm reading the situation correctly, it's also the reason you don't wear revealing clothing. You don't want anyone, especially Luffy, to see it."

Zerina twitched and silently cursed how observant this man was.

"Was that thing really after you?" Sanji then asked. A long paused passed between the two before either spoke up again.

With a small voice, Zerina answered him. "Most likely it was."

Sanji's eyebrows rose up on his head. He wasn't actually expecting her to answer him. "Then what was it?"

"I don't know."

"Seriously?!" Sanji snapped. He stood up and glared down at her. "That thing could have killed my crew and you don't know what it was?!"

"I don't know," Zerina said again. She tightened the towel around her. "I've never seen something like that before."

"But you believe it was after you," Sanji said.

"Yes." Zerina nodded.

"I am seriously losing my patience with you." Sanji ran a hand through his blonde locks. "I want the whole story. And I want it right _now_!"

"I can't tell you," Zerina whispered. Tears leaked out of her hair-covered eyes.

"The heck you can't!" Sanji shouted. He kicked Chopper's chair across the room. It hit the wall with a loud thump. Zerina jumped at the noise but remained on the bed. "You better start talking! I'm not going to have one other those _things_ attacking my crew again! Someone could _die_ next time! Do you really want that?!"

Sanji grabbed the front of her towel and jerked her to her feet. "You better start talking right now or I'm going t-"

"Luffy will die!" Zerina screamed.

Sanji's eyes shot up on his forehead. His hand loosened a bit on her towel. He ran his eyes over her trembling, crying form. "What did you say?"

Zerina hesitated before answering him. "Luffy will die."

"What are you talking about?" Sanji then released her completely. She stood for a few seconds before dropping back onto the bed.

"If…I…Luffy…" With hesitant stuttering before hand, Zerina took in a deep breath. With tears pouring down her face, her chest tightened to the point she couldn't breath, she couldn't handle all the secrets anymore. She had to tell someone. So she did. In one breath she laid it all out for Sanji. She told him everything from the time she was first taken away from her dad and Luffy to the time she escaped with the help of one of the few friends she had on Hydra. "I'm unstable! I can't grant wishes correctly because both of my parents aren't from Hydra! My so-called _family_ back on the island hates me! Just about everyone on the island hates me! They use me to their enjoyment! Making me grant dark wishes then punish me for it! This scar on my back is from whiplashes I get when I'm forced to grant wishes! And I don't know why! I'm a freak there! My aunt tried to marry me off to this jerk that tried to have his way with me! I escaped that place only because of a couple friends I have! But they're probably dead now! The elite probably killed them! And there's nothing I can do about it! I can't do anything about any of this!"

"You can tell Luffy," Sanji said, unsure of what else to say. He didn't expect any of this.

"No! You know what will happen if Luffy knew about all of this?!" Zerina demanded. "You've known him long enough! He'll run off and try to fight them all on his own! And he'll die! He can't fight someone who can kill with words! Luffy is strong, but he can't defeat an entire civilization who can easily defeat _him_ with a _wish_! Don't you understand that?! That's why I haven't told him! I don't want to lose him! I don't want to because I…because I…"

"Because you love him," Sanji concluded. He tilted his head. "You don't just love him, you're _in love_ with him."

Zerina recoiled. She dropped her eyes to the floor and cried more. "I don't know. I think I am, but then I think I'm not. I don't know what that feels like. I've never been in love before."

"Well, how do you feel when you think of him?" Sanji asked.

"I feel happy and protected," Zerina replied. "I know I've only spent a short amount of time with him in person, but through our connection…I feel like we've really bonded. Whenever I think about telling him about this…my entire body becomes cold. I fear that he will die. Which he will if I tell him about this."

"You are in love with him," Sanji said softly with a light chuckle. "I should have noticed that from the beginning."

"But how could you know that? You fall in love with practically every pretty girl you see," Zerina said. She plopped down on the bed and sighed.

"I might do just that, but I do know real love when I see it," Sanji said as he sat down beside her. "And you are in love with him."

"If you say so." Zerina shrugged.

"You'll see it soon enough. My guess is you don't really notice it because of the crap you've put up with," Sanji said thoughtfully. "But tell me, how did you get these wish granting abilities?"

"I don't know. All I know is people on Hydra have had them for years. I don't know really anything of Hydra's past. I do know there use to be some kind of portals or doorways that people use to travel through to travel back and forth between here and Hydra. I believe that's how my mother escaped from that place."

"You seriously don't know anything about your home?" Sanji asked in disbelief. "Are you lazy when it comes to education or something?"

"No!" Zerina said hotly. "I just wasn't _allowed_ to read about it! I've never even seen a history book back on that island!"

"Seriously?!" Sanji asked.

"Yeah. Why?" Zerina raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'm not quite sure, but it sounds like they are keeping things from you," Sanji replied. He narrowed his eyebrows in thought. "They only target you like they do because your father is a pirate and not from Hydra. But hitting you the way they have and keeping the past history of the island a secret sounds like there's something in the past that they don't want you to know about."

"Like what?" Zerina asked. She blinked several times in consideration of the man's words. "What could the past hold that they would want to keep from me? It doesn't make sense."

"I don't know. To figure that out we'd need to go to Hydra and try and find the island's history books," Sanji replied.

"Well, don't look at me for that. I don't ever want to go back there. I'm still not completely sure how I even got here the way I did. My two friends refused to tell me anything," Zerina said. She looked at her hands. She wiggled the fingers of her right hand, wishing the cast was off. "And I don't even know how to return there even if I wanted to."

"And you're concerned about Luffy going there?" Sanji asked a bit teasingly.

"You know him. He'd fine a way to get there." Zerina sighed. She rubbed the heel of her left hand over her eyes, brushing away her drying tears. "He'd probably figure out how to Gum Gum Rocket himself up to the island."

"You're probably right." Sanji nodded. "But you still need to tell him about this."

"No," Zerina said flatly.

"Zerina," Sanji said with a sigh. He placed his hand on her shoulder, bring her eyes to him. "You can't keep this a secret forever. That cast on your arm should be a daily proof of that. If you aunt, or whoever, wished that thing into existence to find you then you know they'll send more until they do capture you."

"But how can I tell him? He's going to be so furious with me and them," Zerina asked softly.

"You don't have much choice. Either way he's going to find out. And it'll be better that it came from _you_ instead of _them_ ," Sanji said.

"Maybe you're right," Zerina replied. She pulled her feet onto the bed, wrapped her arms around her knees and rested her chin on them. The two sat in silence for a while. The tension between them had finally lifted with the truth out in the open.

"So, anything else I need to know about?" Sanji asked, half jokingly.

"Well, I keep hearing this tiny little voice," Zerina replied.

"Huh?" Sanji cocked his head at her.

"I've only heard it twice, but something about it is very familiar. It's like I've heard it before…somewhere." Zerina chewed on her bottom lip in thought.

"What did it say?" Sanji asked.

"That I should trust him."

"Who?"

"Luffy. Or so I assume. The first time it happen was after the snake attack. We were down in the Soldier Dock System and he kis-" Zerina tried to cut herself off, but it was too late. She said too much.

"Luffy kissed you?!" Sanji gasped.

"Yes." Zerina groaned. She wanted to keep that secret, but no point now. And no point in it since she already told him everything else. "Is that really shocking?"

"Yes?! I didn't even think Luffy knew how to kiss!" Sanji gasped again.

"Honestly, I never thought he did either. But he does. And he's really good at it," Zerina said. She felt heat rise upon her cheeks as Sanji just started at her with wide eyes. "What?"

"Nothing…I guess. I'm just surprised. But you two would make a really cute couple." Sanji smiled.

"If you say so." Zerina twitched uncomfortably.

Sanji chuckled at her sudden shyness. "I didn't think you were the shy type. You must really love him."

"Shut up!" Zerina shoved Sanji.

"Ouch! That hurt!" Sanji joked as he fell over on the bed. The two shared a friendly laugh for a while.

When it subsided, Zerina said, "Thanks, Sanji. I feel a lot better now that someone knows about what's going on."

"No problem. But you really should have told someone sooner. This was far too much for you to handle on your own," Sanji said. "I know your dad knows, but you need someone who's around you to know."

"Well, now you know," Zerina said.

"And you can talk to me about it any time." Sanji nodded. "We're friends now. We'll figure out how to deal with this together. And I'll help you figure out how to tell Luffy about this without setting him off into battle mode and running off to get killed."

"Thanks, Sanji. I-" Before she could finish, Sanji put his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. She blinked several times in slight confusion with slightly red cheeks. His clothes and hair was full of the smoke from his constant smoking, but she didn't mind. It felt nice that he was hugging her. She felt protected in his arms just like she did with Luffy. She wrapped her arms around his waist and hid her eyes in his shoulder. "Thank you, Sanji."

…

 **Author's Notes: I feel so guilty for not updating this. T.T I guess I shouldn't have post it until my Neo/Law fanfic slowed down some. But don't worry. I will not abandon this story at all. I don't like starting a story and not finish it. Far too many are like that and it's very disappointing.**


	12. Taken

Taken

"Hey, you're not bad," Sanji said as he watched Zerina easily worked the dough for their rolls he had planned for dinner.

"Thanks," Zerina replied. Her bow staff bumped against her legs when she shifted on her feet. "Growing up on Hydra, I learned a lot. Cooking was one of those things. But I'm no where near your level."

Sanji chuckled. "I suppose I am a bit over your level of cooking."

"Boasting a bit, huh?" Zerina raised an eyebrow at him. It's been two weeks since she had broken down and told him everything about her home island. The tension between them had completely vanished. They had become friends. And she felt a whole lot better having someone nearby who knew what she was going through.

"It's fine to boast a little bit," Sanji replied.

"Yeah, right. Just don't boast a lot. Your head with get too huge and you won't be able to fit into your kitchen," Zerina said with a smile. "Franky would have to add on to the Sunny just to accommodate your bloated head."

"Hey!" Sanji protested with a friendly shove to her arm. "I'm not that bad."

"Not _yet_ ," Zerina quipped. She grabbed the small bowl of melted butter she had prepared before she started making the rolls. She then she grabbed the sugar and mixed a small amount into the butter. She tested the sugary butter to make sure it was the right mixture. "Perfect."

"What are you doing?" Sanji asked.

Zerina reached for a baking brush and paused when he spoke. Her cheeks flushed. "Oh, I'm sorry! I forgot not everyone puts sugar on their rolls!"

Zerina turned to dump out the sugary butter, but Sanji grabbed her wrist and pulled her away from the sink. "It's okay. I was just asking a question. I've never put sugar on rolls before. Was that something you learned back on Hydra?"

"Yeah." Zerina nodded, self-conscious now. "It's just a little sugar. It adds a very nice sweetness to the rolls. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take over completely. I was just doing what I was used to doing. We don't have to put it on them. I've had them without sugar too. They're good either way."

"No. Go ahead and put it on," Sanji said.

"Are you sure? This is your kitchen," Zerina said with a blink. "I'm just a guest in here after all."

"You are not a _guest_ , Zeri," Sanji said pointedly. Zerina's eyes widened at him using one of the two nicknames the crew started using on her. "You are a part of the Straw Hat crew. You know, you really need to get over doubting that you belong here. I know you're scared about what might happen with Hydra and your family, but you are under _our_ protection now. If they try to take you again, we'll stop them just like last time."

Sanji planted his hands on his hips. He finally noticed her wide-eyed stare at him. "What's with that look? Do I have something on my face?"

"No," Zerina drawled. She turned her eyes to the buns then forced herself to pull them back to him. "It's just…that's the first time you've called my by one of the nicknames the other's gave me. It was…nice."

"Oh." Sanji's eyes widened a bit. He nodded when he realized he did call her by a nickname. "I did say Zeri, didn't I?"

Zerina nodded. "Sanji?"

"Yes?"

"I'm glad we finally became friends," Zerina said. She shifted back and forth on her feet. "And I'm glad you're keeping my secrets. For now, anyway."

"I'm glad we finally became friends too," Sanji said. He ruffled her bangs. "And I'm only keeping your secrets for a while. We still need to figure out how we're going to tell Luffy about this. He _has_ to know."

"I know." Zerina nodded. "I know. But neither one of us are anywhere close to coming up with a plan that doesn't end up with him running off in a mad fit to fight a bunch of wish makers who can easily kill with words."

"I know." Sanji turned back to the stove and flipped his sea beast meat while Zerina started brushing the sweetened butter over the rolls. "But there has got to be a way to break this to him without him running off like a madman. Maybe we can use sea prism stone on him?"

"We'd have to leave it on for a long time to make sure he doesn't run off on us," Zerina replied.

"True." Sanji nodded. "I've been thinking about everything you've told me about Hydra and you're wish granting abilities."

"What about them?" Zerina looked back over at him.

"You all have a weakness," Sanji stated simply.

Zerina raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh really? Other than my own _glitches_ I've never noticed a weakness from anyone on Hydra."

"Well, I know you all have one," Sanji replied. "And you might be closer to it than you think."

"I'm afraid I'm not following you," Zerina said. "How?"

"It's all about balance," Sanji said. "Take a look at devil fruit users for an example. Could you imagine what the world would be like if the sea prism stone didn't exist? There would be no way to stop devil fruit users."

Zerina opened her mouth to protest, but quickly shut it. She kneaded her eyebrows in thought. When she spoke, her voice came out just above a whisper. "Do you…do you think that's actually possible? That we all who grant wishes, have some kind of weakness? That my aunt and all of the other elites could be stopped? I could be free of their torture? For good? For _ever_?"

"I don't want to get your hopes up, but yes, that is a possibility," Sanji replied. "But we won't know that if we don't go back to Hydra. Or capture someone from there who desperately want you back."

"But that still doesn't make sense," Zerina said. "I don't know about any weakness. Why would they keep me like that when I know nothing?"

"That I don't know." Sanji shrugged "This all really is just a theory. If you weren't important, in some way or form, then there would be no reason for you to remain there. Your parents would have been able to keep you."

"My parents," Zerina whispered. "Is it possible that my dad knows more than he's letting on? After all, they didn't have a relationship right off. I was born sometime after they met. Mother could have told my dad…but he wouldn't keep secrets from me…would he?"

"I don't know your dad like you do. I don't even know him like Luffy does," Sanji said. "But I know a lot of parents would keep secrets from their child if it knew it would protect them. And I'm sure your dad loves you enough to do just that."

"But." Zerina dropped her eyes to the counter. Tears pressed against her eyes. "But why would he keep something like this from me? If he _knew_ _anything_ about this…"

Sanji turned and blinked at her. He freaked when he saw he upset her. He waved his hands in a panicked fashion. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you cry! I'm just…I'm just guessing that's all! Please don't cry! I'm sure your father loves you!"

"I'm sorry." Zerina swiped the back of her arm over her eyes. "I didn't mean to cry. It's just…I always…I mean, I've never thought about my dad would ever keep a secret from me. But now I'm not so sure."

"What do you mean?" Sanji asked.

"Something that happened when I went to see him," Zerina said. "There's a blank spot in my memories about that trip."

"A blank spot?" Sanji blinked.

Zerina nodded. "I arrived on the ship, said hello to everyone, took a nap with dad, but asked him to tell me about my mother before I fell asleep, he spoke about her until I did fall asleep, then I woke up, meet Benn on the deck, went down to the island, ate lunch, talked about mother's song, sparred, doctor visit, dad and everyone teased me about Luffy, ate, slept again, then came back to the Sunny."

"And why are you'll me all this?" Sanji asked. "Sounds like a normal visit to me. I don't see a blank spot either."

"I'm not sure. It's just a part that really has me confused," Zerina replied. "I know _something_ else happened when I was there. I just can't remember what it was. It wasn't anything bad, but I think it was something important. Or maybe I'm just over thinking everything. Maybe it's nothing."

"Maybe it's _something_ ," Sanji stressed. Zerina lifted an eyebrow at him. "If you feel so strongly that something else happened when you were there, then surely something _did_ happen. Your instincts are telling you this. So you need to listen to them."

"So…" Zerina chewed on her bottom lip. "Should I go see my father and just ask him about all of this upfront?"

"If you think that would help," Sanji said with a nod.

"I'm not sure it would," Zerina replied after a minute of thought. "If dad doesn't want to tell someone something, then he's not going to do it. Not even if I'm the one asking about it."

Sanji and Zerina then fell into a heavy silence as they thought about the predicament they were in. Both jumped about ten feet when the door suddenly opened and slammed against the wall. Luffy cried out, "Meat!"

"You idiot!" Sanji shouted. He leaped into the air then slammed his foot into Luffy's head. "Don't startle us like that!"

"Hm?" Luffy lifted up his head and blinked several times. Zerina was standing with one hand on the counter and the other over her heart in an attempt to steady the racing organ. "Rina? Why are you in here?"

"H-Helping Sanji cook," Zerina stuttered.

"Or she was until you rudely interrupted us," Sanji scoffed.

"You've never help Sanji cook before," Luffy said. He cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, well I," Zerina started.

"That's great!" Luffy then suddenly shouted, cutting her off.

"Huh?" Zerina blinked in confusion.

"We now have _two_ great cooks on the Sunny!" Luffy shouted enough to bring in some of the other Straw Hats. "But you're my co-captain first and foremost!"

"What's going on in here?" Robin asked.

"Is something wrong?" Chopper added.

"No, this idiot is just shouting like usual," Sanji said. He pinched Luffy's cheek and pulled it a foot from the rubber man's face before releasing the captain. Luffy's cheek snapped back in place, vibrating his head.

"All right then. We'll just let you get back to cooking then. It all smells real good," Robin said as she headed back out the door.

Chopper started to follow Robin out the door, but paused and turned back to the two cooking. "By the way, I seem to be missing a jar of antibiotics. Have either of you seen it?"

Zerina flinched and clenched her teeth. How could she have forgotten about that? Sanji had taken the jar and had been applying that on her scar since she told him everything. She opened her mouth to say something, but didn't get a chance as Sanji spoke first. "Oh, I took it. I had to deal with a cut that got a bit infected a while back. Sorry. I forgot to tell you."

"Oh. That's okay. How is it doing? Do I need to take a look at it?" Chopper asked. Luffy slowly slide up to the stove and reached for the meat sizzling on the pan.

"No. It was nothing serious," Sanji said with a wave. He then slapped Luffy's hand. "It's healing up nicely. But I will let you know if something bad pops up with it."

"You be sure to do that," Chopper said with a nod before grabbing Luffy and exiting the kitchen. "Let's go, Luffy."

"Hey! Let me go! I wanna stay with Rina!" Luffy whined as he was drug out of the kitchen.

"You only want to try and steal meat," Chopper's voice said just as he closed the door.

Zerina's eyebrows turned up in worry. She looked back at Sanji who had turned back to his meal preparations. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to lie to your crew."

" _Your crew_? They're _our_ crew, Zeri," Sanji said, tossing a charming smile over his shoulder at her. "And I didn't lie. Think about what I really said."

"What you really said?" Zerina blinked then thought about his words. "Um…"

"I said, 'Oh, I took it. I had to deal with a cut that got a bit infected a while back. Sorry. I forgot to tell you.'," Sanji repeated.

"But you weren't the one who had the injury," Zerina said.

"He didn't ask who had the injury. He asked about the jar," Sanji replied. "So, technically, I didn't lie at all."

"I guess so," Zerina mumbled. "It still doesn't feel right."

"Would you like to tell him the complete truth?" Sanji asked.

"Do you have an idea on how to keep Luffy from running off yet?" Zerina asked.

"We could just tell Chopper for now," Sanji said. Zerina walked back over to the buns. She finished them up and slipped them into the oven. "That would help if something goes wrong with your back again."

"I don't know," Zerina whispered. She placed her hands on the counter. "I just don't know."

"I know this is hard, but the sooner we get it over with the better it's going to be," Sanji said softly. "The people back on Hydra can send more things after you. That one could have really don't some damage if I hadn't been close by. What if they send more than one next time? What if they make them things stronger?"

"Luffy's going to be so furious," Zerina whispered.

"He'll cool off eventually," Sanji said. He watched her closely. She was intensely weight her options, knowing he was right. He saw that. He saw she was ready to just tell Luffy and get it over with. He gave her a few minutes of silence before speaking again. "We have sea prism cuffs on board. We can tell him, all of them, after we eat."

"Yeah," Zerina said, barely audible.

Later that night, after the crew had eaten, Sanji asked them all to gather out on the deck for dessert, which was apple pie. Zerina sat down on the mass deck, with Luffy beside her. She passed on dessert. Her stomach was far too upset. She was barely able to even eat enough dinner so she wouldn't make anyone suspicious. She glanced up at Sanji. When he nodded at her, she nodded back. He then disappeared inside the ship and returned a short while later.

The blonde cook walked right up to Luffy, who had scarfed down his pie in one bite. "Captain?"

"Hm?" Luffy blinked up at the cook.

"Put out your hands," Sanji said.

"Why?" Luffy asked.

"Just do it!" Sanji snapped. "Or no meat for an entire _month_!"

"What?!" Luffy shouted. "Why?!"

"You'll find out. Now do it!" Sanji yelled.

Luffy shouted, but then his voice trailed off when Sanji clamped the cuffs on the rubber man's wrist. "Fine! But this had better be wort…thash she prishm shone."

"Huh?!" Everyone, but Robin, shouted as Luffy slumped to the deck with his tongue hanging out of his mouth.

"What the heck, Sanji?!" Nami screamed.

"What's that for?!" Chopper wailed.

"Bad idea!" Brook said.

"What's gotten into you, you stupid cook?!" Zoro asked.

"Have you lost it, bro?" Franked asked.

"Listen up, everyone!" Sanji then shouted as he looked over each and every single one of his crewmates. They all flinched at the seriousness in his tone and face. "Zerina has something she needs to tell you all. And before you all get upset, hear her out completely and try to understand her reasoning before jumping to conclusions."

All eyes pulled over to Zerina. She could feel their eyes on her even with her bangs falling over her eyes. The strongest was Luffy. He stared up at her with his typical innocent, trusting expression. She flinched when he spoke. "Rina? What's going on?"

"I…I have to tell you something, Lalu," Zerina forced herself to say. "And you're not going to like it."

"What are you talking about?" Luffy asked, just as happily as ever.

"I've been keeping something from you," Zerina said. "Something…something happened back on Hydra."

"Hm?" Luffy blinked. He then took in her posture from his spot on the floor. He blinked again when he noticed how hard she was clenching her hands together on her lap. He tossed his eyes over to Sanji. The cook just closed his eyes and took a puff of his cigarette. Luffy brought his eyes back to her. "Zerina? What's going on?"

Zerina clenched her teeth when he used her full name. He rarely ever did that. "Luffy…I…I…"

Something suddenly splashed into the water right beside the Sunny. It rocked the ship, tipping it over on its side, almost spilling water onto the deck before righting back up. The shocked crew fell over onto the deck, Nami, Chopper and Brook almost slipped into the ocean if it hadn't been for Robin's quick thinking in using her powers to grab them. Zerina grabbed Luffy. But with her still broken wrist, she could only hold onto him with one hand while pressing her right arm onto the bench. He started slipping from her. "Luffy!"

"I got him!" Sanji said, appearing right beside Zerina. He grabbed onto their captain and helped her hold onto him until the ship was back in its up right position.

"What the heck was that?!" Franky asked.

"Huh?" Zoro looked up when he sensed something. Nineteen burning dark purple objects were flying right towards the ship. He pulled out his sword. "Oh crap! Here comes more!"

"What are they?!" Nami asked, twirling her baton. "Meteors?"

Zoro sliced at the things, but his attack did nothing. The things just kept flying towards them until they were right on top of them.

"We're gonna die!" Usopp and Chopper shouted while crying and holding on to each other. Suddenly, the things stopped. "Huh?"

The dark purple blaze around the things disappeared, revealing them to be the exact same strange purplish silver human shaped like thing as before. Zerina's eyes widened. "No…"

"Not again," Sanji said. He pulled the key out of his pocket and unlocked Luffy's cuffs.

"What's going on?" Luffy asked.

"Too late for explanations! Everyone! Listen up!" Sanji shouted, everyone looked at him. "Those things are after Zerina! We can't let them have her!"

"What?!" They all shouted, but Robin.

"Why would they be after you?" Luffy asked.

"I, uh…" Zerina dropped her eyes to the deck.

"Never mind that! Here they come!" Sanji shouted.

Zerina's mind went blank as the Straw Hats dove head first into battle with these strange creatures. Her ears lost their ability to hear as she watched the creatures easily hammer down the crew. Luffy's punches bounced off their sleek bodies. Zoro's sword slashes had zero effect, the slashes didn't even leave any cuts. Robin couldn't touch them due to them being able to burn her hands, so she stood helplessly back. Nami's, Franky's, Brook's, Chopper's, Usopp's attacks were ineffective too. Sanji jumped into the air. He spun around and slammed his foot into the head of one of them. His eyes widened when his attack did nothing this time. "What the heck?! That move completely damaged the last one!"

"Will someone tell me what the heck these things are made of?" Zoro asked while slashing repetitively at one of the invaders. The thing didn't even look at the swordsman. It just hovered in place until all of them looked down at Zerina at the same time. The thing then slammed its fist into Zoro's cheek. Zoro's body when flying down to the ship and through a wall.

"What?! It swatted Zoro away like a fly!" Chopper screamed.

"Zerina!" Luffy suddenly shouted. A petrified look spread over his face. "Look out!"

"Huh?" Zerina turned her head to see what had gotten him so upset. Her eyes widened when she saw a twentieth thing standing behind her, the one that hit the ocean. It was five times bigger than the others. It's stomach opened up like cabinet doors. Before she could process what was going on, the creature grabbed her and shoved her into its hollow torso.

"Zerina!" Luffy shouted as he ran towards the thing. The creature shot up into the air. Luffy threw his arm at the creature, grabbing it by the ankle. He winced when the hot surface of the creature singed his hand. The creature lifted the rubber man up into the air. "It's so hot! Rina! Hold on! I'm coming for you!"

"Luffy!" Zerina cried. She tried to exit the torso, but the creature's arms were crossed over its stomach, effectively holding her in place. She pushed fruitlessly against it, burning herself in the process. She jerked back, unable to do anything.

"Let her go!" Luffy shouted. He grabbed onto the creature's other ankle. The creature didn't even look down. It just kept rising into the air.

"Luffy! Look out!" Zoro shouted.

"Huh?" Luffy looked over his shoulder to see the rest of the creatures flying towards him. Their bodies became engulfed in that strange dark purple fire again. As they flew passed him, they sliced up Luffy's body, repetitively burning him until he had no choice but to let go. He fell towards the ocean. "Crap!"

"Luffy!" Zerina cried, tears pouring down her cheeks.

"Sky Walk!" Sanji shot himself into the air. He kicked Luffy back to the ship before continuing his way up to the thing that held Zerina.

"Sanji!" Zerina shouted just as the torso started to close up.

"I'm coming!" Sanji propelled himself harder until he grabbed onto the torso doors. His hands sizzled as the creature pounded at the cook's back. He winced at the pain, but started to force his way into the torso.

"Sanji! Your hands! Stop it! Let go!" Zerina cried.

"I'm not leaving you alone with these things!" Sanji snapped. "Either we _both_ get taken! Or we _both_ escape!"

"Don't be stupid!" Zerina shouted. "This isn't your problem!"

"Who'd being stupid?!" Sanji shouted back. "How many times to I have to say it?! _You are my_ _friend_! I'm not going to let them take you! At least not alone!"

"Sanji…" Zerina's voice trailed off as Sanji managed to force himself inside just before the torso closed, encasing them in darkness.

"No!" The Straw Hat shouted.

All of the creatures gathered together before shooting off into the sky.

Luffy stared in shock. His heart pounding erratically in his chest, his blood boiled in his veins, his mind shot back to loosing Ace. He wanted to scream. He wanted to scream out her name, to demand them back, but nothing came out. His mouth just bobbed opened and closed until he dropped to his knees, his arms dangling helplessly at his sides, his eyes fading away until he just stared off into nothing.

The rest of the crew just stood still. They watched helplessly as their captain fell to his knees. The pained expression in the young captain's eyes burned holes in their hearts. There was nothing they could say to make this better, to make this easier. Those things took two of their friends. And there was nothing they could do about it. They had no clue what they were, or where they went.

They exchanged looks, silently asking what they should do. But no one answered. No one had an answer. They hung their heads in defeat, but their eyes quickly shot back to Luffy when he started to glow white.


	13. Hydra

Hydra

"What the heck?!" Usopp and Chopper shouted. "Why is Luffy glowing?!"

"Interesting," Robin said as she inspected the white glow around Luffy. "What do you suppose this could be?"

"I don't have a clue," Nami replied with a shake of her head.

"Wake up, you idiot!" Zoro shouted. He raised his foot to kick Luffy, but his foot landed with a hard thump on his captain's shoulder. Luffy didn't move. Zoro continued to push his foot on the immobile teen's body. He wouldn't budge an inch. "What the heck?!"

"Strange," Brook said as he carefully watched Zoro and Luffy. "Do you think Luffy is doing that or is it the glow around him?"

"That's just not normal," Franky said while pushing up his sunglasses.

"You think?" Usopp asked.

"What do we do now?" Brook asked. He looked up to the sky. "What were those things? Why did they come after Zerina? And where do you suppose they took our friends?"

Brook dropped his eyes back to his crew. They all looked at him, but they all were still out of an answer. No one even had a guess at what was going on. Their eyes dropped to the ground only to shoot back up when someone outside of their crew spoke up. "I can answer that."

"Huh?" The Straw Hats looked up to see a tall, very familiar red haired man on their ship. "WHAT?! RED HAIRED SHANKS?!"

"What the heck is an emperor doing here?!" Usopp shrieked. He pulled out his weapon and aimed it at the sea. "Are we under attack?! I don't see his ship!"

"Hey! His ship isn't here!" Nami noted as she looked around the ocean.

"Then how did he get here?!" Franky asked.

"By using this," Shanks replied. He held out his hand. The Straw Hats looked to see a white, eight pointed, star shaped gem in the palm of his hand.

"What is that?" Chopper asked.

"Something that will help Luffy," Shanks said. He turned away from the crew and walked over to the comatose young man. He kneeled down and placed the gem on Luffy's forehead. Ignoring the surprising gasps from the crew when the star stayed in place, he sat down and crossed his legs. "And now we wait."

"Wait?! For what?! What's going on?!" Nami demanded. "What's wrong with Luffy?! What happened to him?!"

"It's better to explain everything when Luffy is conscious again," Shanks replied. "He's suffered a bit of a shock since Zerina was taken from him."

"Shock?! Of course he's in shock! But this isn't normal!" Nami shrieked. "You better tell us what's going on! The last time Luffy had a reaction like this was when Ace…Oh no! Don't tell me Zerina is…"

"Zerina is alive," Shanks replied. "They can't kill her."

"That's a relief," Chopper said with a sigh. He then snapped. "What do you mean they can't kill her?! Who's trying to kill her?!"

"No one's trying to kill her, but if they could, it would be those who are living on Hydra," Shanks replied, not taking his eyes from Luffy.

"Hydra?" Zoro asked.

"Zerina's home island?" Brook asked.

"Yes." Shanks nodded.

"What does her home island…Why would people there be trying to kill her?!" Nami demanded.

"Because she's the only one who can stop them," Shanks replied with light glinting in his eyes. He took a deep breath to calm himself down. He then looked at the younger crew. "Please, don't ask me to explain right now. I'll only do that when Luffy has woken up again. I don't want to have to explain everything…twice."

Shanks dropped his eyes back down to Luffy and watched him carefully. The Straw Hats exchanged looks, silently asking each other what they should do. Zoro was the first to sit down. He looked at Shanks and asked, "How long before he wakes up?"

"Well, I'd guess somewhere between five and fifteen minutes," Shanks replied keeping his eyes on Luffy.

"Fifteen minutes?!" Nami shrieked.

"Shut up," Zoro said. "You all can wait that long."

The Straw Hats exchanged looks again before quietly agreeing to wait. They sat down, a few remained standing, as they waited for their captain to wake up.

"Can I ask what is going on with Luffy right now?" Chopper asked. "What is that star thing doing to him?"

"It's just bring him back to consciousness," Shanks replied. "His mind just took a blow because Zerina was taking from him after being reunited after so many years."

…

"Hm," Sanji hummed to himself as he looked around his prison. The cells were well lit and spacious with comfortable beds. He pressed his hand into the thick mattress underneath him. "Not exactly what I'd call a prison, but whatever. I'm more concerned about where I am and, most important, where Zerina is. Let's see…"

Sanji closed his eyes and tilted his head back. His let his mind drifted back to the Sunny. He grabbed onto that creature that was taking Zerina from them.

 _"Sanji! What were you thinking?!" Zerina demanded as she managed to grab his wrists in the dark. Both their stomachs and noses twitched at the smell of his burnt skin. "Your hands! You've completely damaged them! How are you going to be able to cook now?!"_

 _"Don't worry about that. You're far more important," Sanji replied. He tried to pull his hands away from her, but stopped and winced when sharp pain shot through them. "It doesn't hurt that bad."_

 _"Liar! I felt you flinch!" Zerina snapped. Tears stung her eyes before they fell down her cheeks. She cursed under her breath while leaning forward. She pressed her forehead to his chest and cursed again._

 _"Tsk, tsk, such language coming from such a pretty mouth," Sanji said with a lighthearted chuckle. "I don't think your father and Luffy would approve of such language."_

 _Sanji flinched again when he heard Zerina's soft sobs. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, it was a bit awkward since he couldn't use his hands. But he did his best to comfort her. "Shh…It's all right, Zeri. It's all right."_

 _"No, it's not," Zerina cried softly. "I'm stupid. I got you involved in this when I should have just-"_

 _"Stop that! Don't you dare blame yourself for this again! You didn't ask for any of this! It's going to be just fine!" Sanji shouted. "We're going to get out of this! I promise that I'm going to get you out of here! I'm going to…Whash goin on?"_

 _"Shometin…" Zerina said as both her and Sanji's head spun. "Mush be gas…"_

 _Both Zerina and Sanji slumped together in the tight space of the creature's chest they were inside._

"That's it. That _thing_ must have had some kind of gas inside of it," Sanji said. He looked around the cell again then down to his burnt hands. He cringed at the burnt skin before looking back up. His hands didn't matter right now. He had to get out of here and find Zerina. Standing up, he walked over to the cell door. "Well, at least I don't need to use my hands to fight. I just hope those who took her aren't that strong. It's already going to be a pain in the butt with their ability to grant wishes. Maybe I can take them by surprised and get Zeri out of here before they realize what's going on? All well. Guess we'll see soon. Doesn't look like there are any guards around here. All right then."

Sanji pulled back his foot. He swung it forward, breaking down the cell door with one single kick. He shouted, "I'm coming for you, Zerina!"

…

"You brat!" Angel hissed as she snapped her whip against Zerina's exposed skin.

Zerina gritted her teeth as the sharp pain shot through her as her skin split open from the impact of the whip, again. She had lost count of how many times Angel had hit her. She had lost track of the time as well. She didn't know how long she had been hanging here in the kitchen pantry. Bound by her wrists, her broken one throbbing, just like she always was when her _beloved aunt_ would punish her. The building was strangely quiet. She also had no clue where anyone was. She was most concerned about Sanji. _I hope he's all right. No one has ever came here before from down below. I wonder what they're going to do with him._

"How dare you escape?! What were you thinking?! After all I have done for you!" Angel growled. She reared back and snapped the whip at Zerina's skin again.

Zerina flinched. More of her skin split open. She felt the warm blood run down her side. Her eyes fell to her shirt and pants that way lying haphazardly on the floor where Angel had tossed them. Her vision blurred and doubled. Her mind and ears filled with voices, smells and memories of the past. She could hear the cooks cooking, food sizzling over the fire, other servants bustling around, moving in and out of the pantry and Mari… _Mari._ She lifted her head. "Mari…where is she? Where is everyone? Why aren't they here?"

"Mari? That little traitor along with Jon are _dead_!" Angel hissed.

"What?!" Zerina flinched.

"It took a while to beat the confession out of them and get them to admit that they helped you escape," Angel said. She walked away from Zerina and grabbed her glass of water she had setting on a shelf. She chugged it down then slammed it back on the shelf. The glass wobbled before falling and crashing onto the hard ground below. She gripped the whip handle, growled at the now broken glass and snapped the whip at Zerina, splitting open her right cheek. "See what you did?! That glass was expensive!"

Zerina's bangs fell over her eyes. Her warm tears mixing with the fresh blood trickling down her cheek. "I don't care. Go ahead and blame me for whatever you wish. Just tell me one thing…"

"What would that be?" Angel cocked her head to the side. "Not that I'm going to tell you anyway."

"Why do you hate me so much?" Zerina lifted her now grey eyes to the woman before her. "What did I do?"

"What did you do?! You were _born_ that's what!" Angel snapped. She cracked the whip against Zerina's left hip, shredding off a piece of Zerina's underwear. She ran her eyes over the multiple whip wounds that covered Zerina's body from her head to her feet. She smirked at her handy work, proud of the pain she inflicted. "You and your filthy pirate blood! You don't deserve to live!"

"Really?" Zerina asked, no longer caring or feeling the pain. Her body went numb and cold. She tried to seek out Luffy, but his voice was silent. She couldn't reach him. Her chest tightened at how far his mind suddenly was from her, how broken it felt. She hadn't been able to contact him since she woke up here on Hydra. That hurt far worse than what Angel was doing to her. She felt so guilty for not just telling him the truth to begin with. Sanji was right. She should have told him when she had the chance. Now she might not ever see him again. "All of _this_ just because I'm the daughter of a pirate? That can't be right."

"Are you calling me a liar?!" Angel hissed. She struck Zerina on the left thigh with her whip.

"I am," Zerina replied honestly. "If that was it, you would have killed me years ago. So what's the truth? Why did you keep me alive? What's the point of all this? Other pirate children have been killed because of who their parents are…"

Zerina flinched. Her mind filled with stories of Ace that Luffy had told her. "…Ace…I wish I could have met you. You sound like you would have been such fun to be around. I would have loved to hear you talking about Luffy."

"Ace? Who the heck is that?" Angel asked.

"Ace, he's Luffy's brother. He was killed protecting Luffy. He was going to die because he's the son of a pirate as well. I wonder how he felt growing up. He must have been so sad before he met Luffy," Zerina said. She then smiled.

"What are you babbling about?" Angel asked. She raised an eyebrow at Zerina. "Are you sick or something?"

"Sick?" Zerina asked. Her forehead did feel warm, her body felt heavy, she felt warm and cold. But that wasn't what was really making her sick. "I'm sick all right. I'm sick of _you_. I'm sick of the crap _you've_ put me through. If you want to kill me, then just do it. I'm _sick_ of looking at you. Just kill me already."

"You have no idea how much I'd like to do that right now," Angel said with a forced control and an underlining tone of something else that Zerina couldn't quite place.

Zerina looked up at her. She asked, "What do you mean? Why don't you just kill me? You hate me. So just do it."

"Shut up!" Angel hissed.

"Wait…" Zerina blinked when she saw murder clearly in Angel's eyes. Realization started filtering into her foggy brain. "You can't. You can't kill me, can you?"

"Shut up!" Angel pulled back her arm. She started to swing the whip toward Zerina's eyes when a sudden loud crash ran out through the air followed by Zerina's name being yelled out.

"Zerina!" Sanji shouted. "Where are you?!"

"Sanji! I'm in here!" Zerina called back.

"What the heck?!" Angel demanded just before Sanji appeared in the doorway.

"Zerina, I've been-" Sanji's voice cut off when he saw all the cuts and blood on her body. "What heck happened?!"

"Sanji! Run! Get out of here!" Zerina screamed. "Get out before she makes wish!"

"Too late! Zerina, I wish for you to-" Angel started. Her voice was cut off when Sanji suddenly disappeared then reappeared inches in front of her.

"Not today! Your abusive hold over Zerina ends now!" Sanji said just before kicking Angel across the room.

Zerina's eyes widened as she watched her aunt go flying into the shelves of the pantry. The shelves crumbled under the impact, trapping the now unconscious woman underneath. "Sanji…you just…k-kicked a _woman_."

"That _thing_ is not no woman," Sanji hissed as he grabbed a knife, flinching in the process, and walked over to Zerina. He cut the ropes that bound her wrists. He held out his arm and caught her as she slumped into his hold. "She's a monster. Would you look at what she did to you? You have a fever!"

"I'm all right," Zerina said as Sanji picked her up bridal style.

"Don't give me that crap. I know you're not all right at all," Sanji said as he turned and ran out of the pantry. He bolted for the nearest door and busted outside. He dashed through the gardens while looking around. He was expecting some resistance, but no one seemed to be around. "What's going on? Where is everybody?"

"I don't know. I've only seen Angel," Zerina replied. She looked around as well.

"Something doesn't feel right about this," Sanji noted. "There should be others here."

"Maybe Angel thought she could handle us on her own," Zerina said.

"What?! That's crazy! Doesn't see read the newspapers?!" Sanji asked as he ran for the forest several miles away.

"The only news we have here is Hydra news," Zerina replied. "Where are we going?"

"Dang, you're more isolated up here than I thought you were," Sanji said as he continued to run. "I'm not sure where we're going, away from that creature for sure. But I don't know this place. Is there a safe place we can go and hide?"

"Well, no one really goes into the forest," Zerina said as she pointed to the thick forest they were already heading towards. "I'm not really sure why thought. I guess everyone is more city dwellers here."

"Well, with as fancy as the house was, I don't doubt it," Sanji replied. "We have to get back to Luffy and the crew. How do we get off this island?"

"We don't. We're trapped here."

"Huh? What about the portal or gate thing you came through?" Sanji looked down at her. He cringed at the blood seeping through her wounds. If it weren't for his choice in black clothing, her blood would be showing up on his clothes.

"It's back in the house, but I'm not sure how it worked to begin with," Zerina replied. "We might not be able to use it again. Do you want to go back and see?"

"No! I don't want you anywhere near that _creature_ again!" Sanji snapped.

"So what are we going to do? We don't have anywhere we can really hide. Angel will probably send those things after us again," Zerina said.

"Well, maybe we'll get lucky. The two times those things found us we were out in the open. If we can find shelter, we might be able to hide from them."

"Then what?"

"We hope and pray that the rest of the crew can find a way to get here. Or we receive a miracle," Sanji said. "Which ever comes first. At this point in time, I'll take either."

…

The Straw Hat crew twitched and fidgeted. Robin was the only one who stood still. They dropped their eyes to Luffy once more. Their eyes widened when their captain's fingers twitched. A small groan left his lips before his body slumped forward. Shanks held out his arm and caught him. He mumbled, "Where is she?"

"Back on Hydra," Shanks replied.

"Hm?" Luffy lifted up a bit and looked at the man holding him. "Shanks? What are you doing here? I'm not a great pirate yet."

"I know, Luffy. And I'm sorry about breaking our agreement, but I think we both can agree on putting that on hold until we've gotten Zerina back," Shanks said.

"Rina! Shanks! They took her! She's gone!" Luffy cried. He grabbed onto Shanks's arms and shook him. "Something took her!"

"I know, Luffy," Shanks replied. His eyes lifting to the star still attached to Luffy's forehead. "You're going to get her back."

"But how?!" Luffy shouted. "I don't know where she is!"

"I already told you, she's back on Hydra," Shanks replied.

"Are you going to explain everything to us now?" Nami asked.

"Yes." Shanks nodded. He then looked at Luffy. "This might be hard for you to hear, especially you, Luffy, but here's what's going on…"

"What?!" The Straw Hats, but for Luffy and Robin, screamed once Shanks told them what had been going on with Zerina.

Robin crossed her arms over her chest and cupped her chin in thought. Luffy was sitting in front of Shanks where he had been the entire time. He had brought his legs up to his chest and was hugging his knees. Shadows had fallen over his face as he stared off into space. Shanks glanced at him.

"But why?! Why would they do that to her?! And why wouldn't she tell us about it?!" Chopper demanded with tears in his eyes.

"I think she was going to tell us. But those things attacked before she could," Nami said.

"She should have told us long before now," Zoro said. "Now she and our stupid cook are in the hands of those maniacs. She lied to us. She kept all this a secret and put us all in danger."

"One thing you have to understand about Zerina is how stubborn she can be," Shanks then said. "She was taken away from me when she was only six years old. She grew up in that hostile environment with practically no friends to help her. She had to learn, a very young age, to be completely and totally dependent on herself. She's not use to leaning on anyone else when she needs support."

"But she seems so close to Luffy," Nami said. She took a glance at her oddly silent captain.

"That's because of a special bond they share," Shanks said. "Her and Luffy's ability to contact each other is what's been keeping her going all this time. He's been the only good thing in her life that she's had a constant connection with."

"You still haven't told us exactly why these people are trying to isolate her," Robin said. "What did she do to deserve all this hatred from them?"

"She was born," Shanks replied simply.

"What does being born have to do with anything?" Franky asked. "It's not a crime or a sin for just being born."

"Of course it's not, but they're afraid of what she is capable of doing," Shanks replied. He tilted his head back, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He then looked back at the Straw Hats. "I'll see if I can explain it, but there are some things I won't be able to tell you all. That part will be more clear once everything is explained. But here it is…The wish granting abilities that the people of Hydra have doesn't actually belong to them."

"What?!" The crew shouted.

Shanks continued, "The magic actually belongs to a group of creatures called Starlings. They're little sprite like creatures that can _give_ the abilities to grant wishes to humans. The elite on the island are afraid of growing old and Zerina's Aunt Angel is in fact over three hundred years old. It was actually her who took the magic from the Starlings."

"Three hundred years old? I'm not even that old!" Brook said. "Not even with my devil fruit powers!"

"How is that possible?! Is they immortal or something?!" Nami asked. "Is Zerina immortal since she can't be killed?!"

"No one's immortal. All magic has its limits. Immortality is one of them, for this type of magic anyway. Zerina's aunt, as well as many others, have granted themselves wishes that will make them always look young. While they can wish for themselves to be younger, they aren't and never will be immortal. They can still be killed by other means, like getting stabbed in the chest or head, shot, broken neck and so on. And they can't kill Zerina because her mother made a wish so that if anyone tried to kill her because of her ability to stop the elite would fail. Zerina can still be killed but only if the motivation for her death has nothing to do with Hydra. It's all in how they word their wishes," Shanks said. "And as for Hydra, itself, it's actually a dual island."

"What? You mean it has two climates or something?" Franky asked. He put his hand behind his head and leaned back against the Sunny's rail.

"No, I mean it's literally two different islands. There's the exterior island where all the humans live. Then there's the interior island where the Starlings actually live. The Starlings originally came from space," Shanks said.

"You mean they're aliens?" Usopp gasped.

"I suppose you could look at them like that," Shanks said with a nod. "They created the interior of the island to look like space."

"So the interior of this island looks like space? It has stars inside of it?" Robin asked.

"So I hear. It's not safe for humans to live in space without protection so the same is for the inside of Hydra. Humans, normal ones anyway, can't go there just like the real space above us. The Starlings created these portals, or gates, to travel between the interior and the exterior of the island." Shanks nodded. "Starlings like to help people. And for a while, that's what their magic did. They gave humans the ability to grant wishes. For a while, everything was fine. But then the elite came along and started to crave more power. No one knows for sure what the wish was exactly, but Angel wished to have all of the Starlings magic."

"So where are the Starlings now?" Nami asked. "Why don't they just undo this damage? Can they even do that?"

"They can. But they're trapped inside of the island," Shanks replied.

"How do we get them out?" Chopper asked. "Can they even be found again? Why don't someone just go into one of the gates and get them?"

"Because the gates have been, supposedly, destroyed," Shanks replied. "But there is another way for the Starlings to be freed."

"How so?" Brook asked.

Shanks answered, "After Angel sealed away the Starlings and supposedly destroyed the gates, no one really gave them much thought. They wondered for a while where they had went, but since they still had their wish granting abilities, they eventually pretty much forgot about them. For a couple years, life just went on normally. Angel had learned that she could filter out the magic of the Starlings she possesses and made it where she, and whoever she felt like, was stronger than others. They took control of the island. But no one really cared since they still had their magic. It wasn't until a woman gave birth to a son who was born like Zerina was, one parent was from Hydra, the other was not. The Starlings magic only worked on those who lived on Hydra. See a type of bond was formed between the humans and the Starlings who lived together on Hydra. Since it was a hard island to fine, not many humans ever came there. When they did, if they wanted to stay, they had to stay for life. A few stayed while most left. But when an _outsider_ had a child with a Hydra inhabitant, it disrupted something. The child was able to travel to the interior side of the island. He _saw_ the Starlings and learned the truth about what happened. The child brought this information to the people. Needless to say, Angel was livid. She killed the child on the spot out of rage when the people started asking questions. She then wished for the island to rise into the sky and had forbidden the people of Hydra from having personal relationships with others who were not from that island or face immediate death. She also destroyed all history books and theories on the Starlings."

"Wow!" Usopp gasped. "All this was happening on our planet and no one knew?!"

"No one knew because most of this happened three hundred years ago," Shanks said.

"What?!" The Straw Hats shouted, but Luffy, Robin and Zoro.

"Does…does that mean that Zerina is…?" Usopp muttered.

"No, Zerina isn't hundreds of years old," Shanks replied. "Angel is, but Zerina is still a teenager. She's still Luffy's age, only a few months younger. Life went on a bit differently after Angel killed the boy. She became a tyrant."

"What about Zerina's mother? How old is…was she?" Nami asked. "How were you two able to meet and have a child if she was stuck on Hydra?"

"Zerina's mother was seventeen when all of this happened. So she knew about the Starlings and the boy. She lived on Hydra for a long while after that before discovering that not all of the gates had been destroyed. When Angel wished for the island to be lifted into the sky, small pieces of the island broke off and remained in place. So travel from Hydra and the rest of the world was still, somehow possible despite a barrel Angel wished into place around the island. The gates were supposed to only lead to and from the interior and exterior of the island, but somehow changed when the island was lifted into the sky. One theory is the Starlings retained enough magic to change how the portals work in hopes one day to be freed. Whatever the truth was, Zerina's mother didn't care. She just ran from Angel, from Hydra, from everything there when she found a portal with the intention of having a child to _dethrone_ Angel, if you would, and return the magic to the Starlings and set Hydra back where it belongs," Shanks said. He paused and looked at Luffy. Despite the young captain's head hanging low and dark shadows over his eyes, Shanks knew Luffy was listening and devouring every single word and getting angry.

"So, Zerina's mother was only going to have a child to upset the balance on Hydra?" Usopp asked.

"For a while that was her only reason for having a child," Shanks said with an indescribable grin that was full of mischief. "Until she met me. The very first time I saw her was at a tavern. It was obvious she was trying to get a man to bed with her. It was hilarious. She had no clue what she was doing. Anyway, things went a bit south from there when she decided she didn't want to be with him after all. She ran out then ran into some bandits who wanted to sell her at a human action house because of her odd coloring. I freed her, only to get slapped by her. She then stowed away on my ship where I found her and, just for fun, made her a slave until she broke down and told me the truth about who she was and where she was from. She told me she was going to be forced to marry a man she absolutely couldn't stand and how she wanted to free the Starlings. And I'm pretty sure you can guess where things went from there. I kept her as a prison for a while. Eventually, we fell in love and had Zerina. Zerina's mother died while trying to protect Zerina from everyone on Hydra shortly after meeting Luffy. Zerina was four, I believe, when that happened. After that, it was only a matter of time for everything to fall in place. When they realized they couldn't kill Zerina, they forced her back to Hydra where she was forbidden from ever learning about the history of Hydra and lived mostly as a slave so nothing like that could ever happen again."

"So how do we stop this then? How do we stop Angel?" Nami asked.

"That's where Zerina and Luffy come in. They are the key to setting free the Starlings," Shanks replied.

"But how?" Chopper asked.

"That's something I can't directly answer. Zerina and Luffy are the ones who must figure out how to get to the Starlings. They hold the key to everything," Shanks said.

"But how are they suppose to do this if they don't know what they're suppose to do in the first place?" Chopper asked.

"The answers to finding the Starlings are inside both Luffy and Zerina and the song she sings," Shanks said. "I'm afraid that's all I can tell you. Magic always has its limits and rules. I'm also bound by those rules until Zerina and Luffy figure it all out."

"But how are they suppose to do that if they don't have any clue on what they're suppose to do?!" Chopper asked again.

"The clue is in the song Zerina sings," Shanks replied.

"Zerina sings?" Nami asked with a tilt of her head.

"She does. But only one particular song that her mother taught her," Shanks replied. He looked at Luffy when the young man lifted his head up. "Luffy?"

"I want to see her," Luffy replied stiffly.

"That star gem on your head with take you to her," Shanks said. "All you have to do is ask it to."

"Just like that?" Zoro asked.

"Just like that." Shanks nodded.

"Then let's go," Luffy said. He pushed himself up to his feet. With shadows still over his eyes, he looked down at Shanks. "Are you coming?"

"I think it might be best if I did," Shanks said with a nod. Luffy only nodded in response.

"By the way," Franky said. "How exactly did you get here without a ship?"

"By using that gem Luffy's wearing," Shanks replied. "It holds a little bit of Zerina's mother's magic. I can use the magic as long as it's to help Zerina and Luffy."

"Let's go!" Luffy then shouted. The star on his forehead began to glow in response to his words. "I want to see Zerina! Take me to her! Take me, my crew and Shanks to Zerina!"

The crew gasped as the bright white light from the gem on Luffy's forehead started to glow and spread out over them. With a flash, the group disappeared from the Sunny.

…

"Hm?" Sanji looked down when Zerina shuttered in his hold. Her cheeks were flushed and sweat speckled her forehead. He leaned over and pressed his cheek to her forehead. "Oh great! You're fever's getting higher!"

"I'm okay," Zerina replied through labored pants.

"No you're not!" Sanji snapped. "Did that cut on your back become infected again?! It shouldn't have! Maybe it was one of the other cuts that monster did to you! Just hold on, Zerina! I'll get you somewhere safe! Maybe we can find help!"

"There won't be anyone," Zerina replied tiredly. Tears prickled in her eyes. "Everyone here's afraid of Angel. They won't fight her. And Mari and Jon are…dead."

"Don't believe that until you've seen their bodies!" Sanji said. "Something definitely isn't right here! She probably lied about them being dead!"

"There's no where for them to escape to," Zerina said.

"They could have just jumped off the island. We could do that," Sanji suggest even though he knew that was a pretty far-fetched idea. He looked around the field they were running through. They were nowhere near the edge of the island anyway. And he highly doubted they would make it that far. There were plenty of hiding places behind all of the bushes and tall grass they were getting into.

"There's a magic barrier around the island," Zerina said. "No one can leave. No one can come here."

"Well, somehow you did leave this island! And those creatures left and came back too!" Sanji shouted. He skidded to a stop when a bright white light appeared in front of them. "Crap! What now?!"

"Now we save your sorry hide," Zoro's voice said. The light began to fade and revealed the crew and Shanks.

"Never thought I'd be happy to see _you_ ," Sanji said while glaring at Zoro.

"Zerina!" Chopper shouted. He rushed forward and jumped upon Sanji's shoulder. "You don't look so good!"

Zerina looked at the reindeer then over at Luffy. Her chest tightened. He wasn't looking at her. She wasn't sure where he was looking since his eyes were covered with his hat, but she knew it wasn't at her.

"She's got a fever," Sanji said. Shanks walked up to him. The blonde flinched at the presence of the older man. "What are you doing here? How did you even get here? And that's a question for all of you."

"And it's a question that'll have to be answered later," Shanks replied while looking out of the corner of his eye. "We've got company."

Zoro pulled out his sword while the others went on guard to attack whoever was coming. Usopp trembled while asking, "Who is it?! Don't tell me we have to fight already!"

"I hope not," A female voice said. "That would be a huge waste of time."

"Huh?" Zerina turned her eyes to the voice. Her heart jumped when Mari stepped out from behind a tall bush. "Mari! You're alive!"

"Hey, Zerina!" Mari smiled. "You bet I'm alive."

"But how?! Angel said-" Zerina started.

"Angel says a lot," Mari said, cutting the young girl off. "There's no time for explanations. We have to get you and your friends out of here. Come on."

Shanks immediately started following. The Straw Hats exchanged looks before following as well. They exchanged looks again at the thick, uncomfortable silence that hovered around them. Cautiously, they took occasional glances over at Zerina and Luffy. Zerina was still in Sanji's hold. She was keeping her eyes down as Chopper asked her questions on how she was feeling and what was hurting while looking over her whip lashes. Luffy was running right beside Sanji. It was clear to everyone that he was upset with Zerina, but still wanted her to know that he was there for her. But they all knew that a fight between the two was going to come as soon as they were in a safe place and Zerina was feeling better.

…

 **Author's Notes: I don't think Shanks explanation came out as clear as I wanted it.**

 **rodinaashraf: He's not flirting with her mostly because of Luffy's relationship with her, but also because of how their own relationship got started. He still thinks she's cute. Yeah, I'm apparently gifted for cliffhangers. Criticize away. Doesn't bother me at all. I like hearing what people have to say, good and bad. This chapter was supposed to be up days ago, but I took an unplanned trip to my uncle's and didn't get to write it when I wanted too. Then I was having trouble getting Shanks' explanation out correctly, which I don't think it is even now. *** **sigh* This story just doesn't want to be written.**

 **anything goes my way: It's always like that, isn't it?**

 **PuddyKatz: We'll find out what Lalu's going to do next chapter.**


	14. The Keys

**Shanks' explanation has been fixed. It should make more sense now. Be sure to go reread it**

* * *

The Keys

"Hm?" Zoro lifted his attention to the east when he heard some distant noise that sounded like a battle. "What's going on over there?"

"A battle, of sorts," Mari replied.

"What?!" Usopp, Nami and Chopper shrieked.

"That shouldn't be much of a surprise considering you all know what's been going on here," Mari said as they lead them through the thick forest. She looked over at Shanks, who nodded to confirm her suspicions. She nodded back.

"So what happened? Zerina said that Angel said you and some other person was dead," Sanji said. He looked at Mari then down at Zerina when she shifted in his hold. Zerina had her eyes closed, but when she heard Sanji asked about Mari and Jon, she opened her eyes and glanced at the woman.

"She only said that because she w-i-s-h-e-d we were dead," Mari replied. She ducked under a low hanging branch and paused. When everyone had ducked under the branch, she turned to a small hillside that was to her left. She muttered something under her breath. The Straw Hats gasped when a small section of the hillside started to glow. It opened up, revealing a door. She slipped inside and waved for them to follow.

Shanks was the first to enter. The rest exchanged looks before Sanji entered soon followed by the rest. They remained quiet as Mari led them through a tight, lightly light tunnel, Franky had to walk sideways to fit through. It was lit with strange glowing orbs that seem to hang in the air on their own power. The Straw Hats looked around curiously, occasionally looking back at their quiet captain. Luffy's eyes were still covered with shadows. They flinched and look away, all wondering when he was going to finally explode.

A few minutes later the tunnel ended and they entered into a very large cavern. Most of the Straw Hats gasped again when they saw the cavern they were now standing in. It had several beds, chairs, tables and games scattered about the large floor. A ton of people were sitting around, chatting and having fun, seemingly oblivious to the dangers going on outside.

"Welcome to the resistance head quarters," Mari said.

"There's a battle outside and everyone's in here having fun?!" Usopp shrieked.

"Well, no one here has ever fought a battle before," Mari replied. She gestured to one of the beds. Sanji laid Zerina on the bed and stepped back. "You sit on the bed, young man."

"Uh?" Sanji blinked confused.

"Just sit and hold your hands out, palm up," Mari instructed. Sanji nodded and sat down then held up his hands. She ran her eyes over him and Zerina before mumbling something under her breath. The Straw Hats gasped when the woman started to glow. The glow extended over Sanji's hands and Zerina's body. Sanji's eyes widened when his damaged hands started to heal right before his eyes. A minute later, the glow faded. "There you go. All fix up now."

"Huh?" Sanji flexed his fingers out then curled them into his palms. "This is incredible! They're completely healed!"

"Wishes are good with that." Mari nodded.

"I'm healed?" Zerina asked. She sat up and looked down at her body. All of her pain was gone. She was looking at her wrist when Mari mumbled under her breath again. The cast on Zerina's arm cracked then fell off her wrist. "It's not broken anymore."

"That's right." Mari nodded. "I fix-"

"Mari!" Zerina launched herself off the bed. She wrapped her arms around the older woman's neck and cried. "I was so worried! What happened to you?! Where's Jon?!"

"I'm right here," Jon then said. The group turned to the new person a second before Zerina grabbed him and pulled him into their hug.

"You stupid idiots! I was so worried about you!" Zerina cried as she held on to them both. "What happened?! I thought you were dead!"

"Let's sit down," Mari suggest, turning a bit blue in the cheeks. Zerina, reluctantly, released them. The woman then led them all over to a sitting area. They sat down and waited for the answer. Zerina, feeling so happy her friends were alive, sat between Mari and Jon. Luffy sat directly across from her, though no one knew if he did it on purpose or not. Shanks sat on Luffy's left side while Robin sat on his right. Usopp, Frank and Chopper sat on the floor. Nami and Zoro each sat in two chairs that were near by while Sanji remained standing. Zerina glanced at Luffy before pulling her eyes away from him. Her heart raced with the thoughts of what he was possible thinking and what he was going to say to her once he started speaking again. Mari and Jon exchanged a nod before the woman started speaking. "Well, Angel did want to kill us when she figured out you were no longer on Hydra. After you left, we made a wish for a replacement you. We disguised another member or our resistance that's your age and about your height and weight. She took your place once you were gone."

"What?! But that's crazy! No one should have taken my place! Angel would have-" Zerina started.

"Angel didn't notice for over a year," Jon said, cutting Zerina off. "She was so _happy_ about your engagement to Taru she hardly even looked at you for an entire year."

Luffy growled at the mention of the engagement and Taru. Everyone, but Shanks, flinched at the dangerous aura the young pirate captain was putting off. Zerina looked at him, but quickly looked away. She swallowed. Her throat was dry but she couldn't bring herself to ask for a drink. She turned her eyes back to Mari and asked, "So what happened? Was the wish really that good to hide the fact it wasn't me?"

"It was." Mari nodded.

"Luckily," Jon added, "for us your replacement was blind to the true about Taru. She was head over heels for the man for a while. Then she realized how dangerous he really was."

"So she was happy about being me?!" Zerina asked in disbelief.

"Yeah." Jon nodded. "She played the part well. Too well, if you ask me. But it worked so I'm not complaining about it."

"So what happened?" Zerina asked.

"Angel planned your wedding," Mari replied, causing Luffy to growl again. Everyone, but for Shanks, started to inch away from the enraged captain. "But, unfortunately, the magic of our wish wore off before we thought it would and we were busted."

Zerina's face grew pale. She grabbed Mari and Jon's hands.

"Don't worry. We were prepared enough to handle that," Mari said, patting Zerina's hand. "See, a lot of people are tired of living under Angel. We've been setting up this revolt for several years. Pretty much when we learned of your existence."

"So you knew about Zerina?" Nami asked. "Before she came to live on Hydra?"

"We did." Jon nodded. "We were friends with Zerina's mother. She told us of her plans. While she was working on the baby thing, we were up here working things out on this end."

"So you've been planning this revolt for longer than Zerina's been alive?" Sanji asked.

"Yup." Jon nodded. "We had to move slow. We had to make sure that those we talked to weren't allied with Angel."

"And the battle outside?" Zoro asked. "Before you said no one here knew how to fight. What did you mean by that?"

"People here rely completely on their magic," Jon replied. Mari nodded in agreement. "There's never been an actual fight with fists, swords, guns or whatever, on this island. The people here only use their magic. And since the elite always had the most magic, they've ruled over us."

"So how have you been able to hold them off?" Brook asked.

"We set up dummy bases all over Hydra and leaked false information about where we've been hiding," Mari said. "There's no way we can directly fight them despite there only being about three thousand elites out there trying to find us. Most people here are cowards once the people they bullied have stood up to them. They're currently in hiding. They fear what Zerina can do."

"Which brings us back to the real problem," Nami said. She took a cautious look at Luffy. "We need to get the Starlings freed, but…"

Everyone's eyes shot to Zerina. She asked, "What?"

"Zerina, it's time for you and Luffy to do what you were destined to do," Shanks said. Zerina raised an eyebrow at him. He stood up and stepped over to her. He kneeled down and placed his hand on her knee. "Baby, I know you've noticed gaps in your memory. And there's a reason for that. I can't flat out tell you why that's happened. You have to find that out for yourself. And Luffy is the only one who can help you do that. You have to remember what happened when you first met him."

"When we first met?" Zerina asked. She started to gnaw on her bottom lip and think about the gaps in her memory. "But…I thought the only gap was when I came to see you."

"It's a bit complicated to explain. There's hardly ever clear answers when dealing with magic," Mari said.

Shanks glanced at her then back at Zerina. He said, "It's time to end this nightmare. It's time for you to be free. I couldn't do anything to save your mother. I wasn't strong enough then. And I'm still not strong enough now to save you."

"Daddy…" Zerina's eyes filled with tears. She placed both her hands over his. "Please don't. You are strong. You wouldn't be an emperor if you weren't."

"I'm strong in that world. I'm not strong in the world of magic," Shanks corrected her. He glanced over his shoulder and smiled at Luffy. "But he is. He can protect you. He can help you."

"Help me? That's what that voice keeps saying," Zerina mumbled. She dropped her eyes to their connected hands.

"And it's time you started listening to it," Shanks said. He squeezed her knee before leaning in towards her. He whispered, "There's nothing wrong for admitting weakness and asking for help. Just ask him."

"But I…I don't know how," Zerina replied.

"That's stupid!" Luffy suddenly yelled, making everyone flinch. He jumped to his feet. The shadows remained over his eyes for two seconds before he revealed his angry eyes to Zerina, causing her to flinch. "What do you mean 'You don't know how'?! All you have to do is say, 'Luffy! I need your help! Help me!' Or anything else like that! How is that _hard_?! Now say it! I want to hear you say it! Ask for my help!"

Zerina gritted her teeth as Shanks moved away from her. She clenched her hands over her legs, barely noticing she didn't have her shirt and pants anymore. Her shoulders slumped. Her hair fell over her eyes. She was scared. She wanted to ask him to help her, but she just couldn't get the words out. She was far to scared of losing him.

The rest of the Straw Hats remained quiet as they watched the display. They all knew this had to play out on it's own. Jon, however, started to stand up. He said, "Hey, hey! There's not need to-"

Shanks held out his hand to stop the man. When he made eye contact with Jon, he shook his head. Jon frowned, but sat back down.

"Why won't you ask me to help you?!" Luffy demanded. "Do you think that I won't do it?!"

"No," Zerina squeaked. "I know you will."

"Then why?! Why won't you just ask it?!" Luffy screamed.

"Because I was scared! I am scared!" Zerina shouted back. She shot her tear filled eyes up to Luffy before jumping to her feet. She glared right at him, her tears streaming down her cheeks. "I know how you are! If I had told you about everything that I have been going through here, you would have ran off and tried to fight all these people on your own!"

"Of course I would have! And so what?! I'll do anything to protect you!" Luffy snapped.

"You're an idiot! Why don't you think for once?! I couldn't tell you because I love you! You mean the world to me! You saved me already! You kept me from going insane! Besides that, how do you think that you would have been able to beat the elite here?!" Zerina demanded. "You can't fight someone who can destroy you with a wish! With _words_!"

"I don't care! I would have figured out a way to fight them anyway! You're my girlfriend, Zerina! I'm supposed to protect you!"

"Ah! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" Zerina shouted. She covered her ears with her hands. "Stop calling me your _girlfriend_! I don't want to hear that anymore! I'm not! Do you even know what that word means?! What all that entails?!"

"What are you talking about?" Luffy asked. Over half of his fervor disappeared. He tilted his head and took her in. "Of course I know what it means."

"Don't try to humor me!" Zerina snapped, lowering her hands. "You don't have any idea! You have no clue that a girlfriend is a-"

"A regular companion which a man, as in me, has romantic or sexual relationship with," Luffy said, cutting her off. "And that would be you. You're my girlfriend. You always have been."

Zerina blinked. Her eyes locked onto Luffy's. He was serious. He was sincere. She was confused. Her head tilted to the left. She said, "Huh?"

The Straw Hats looked at their captain. They were confused as well. Their heads tilted. They said, "Huh?"

"What are you saying?!" Nami, Chopper and Usopp demanded after a few seconds of silence. They grabbed onto his cheeks and pulled them. "Are you saying that this _whole entire time_ you _knew_ what a girlfriend was?!"

"-uh? Wh-t ar- yoush all –alkin- a-out?" Luffy asked through his stretched out cheeks. "O- cour-e I now –aht a irl-riend is!"

"And you let Zerina think this _whole entire time_ that you didn't?!" Sanji screamed. His sharp teeth gnashed together as he yelled. He dropped his foot on top of his captain's head, causing the captain's body to sink to the floor then snap back up. "What's the matter with you?!"

"-ill ou et go o- my f-ce?" Luffy asked.

"Fine! But don't be so stupid!" Usopp, Nami and Chopper shouted before releasing their hold on the young captain.

"Ouch!" Luffy while when his face snapped back into place. He rubbed his red cheeks. "Did you really have to do that?!"

"Of course we did!" Usopp and Chopper yelled.

"Why didn't you say something about this before?!" Nami demanded.

"Why don't you all stop yelling and give him an actual chance to answer the question?" Zoro said. "He can't speak well with you all pulling on his face and yelling at him like that."

"I'm curious as well," Robin said as calm as ever.

"Luffy just seemed so oblivious as always," Franky said.

"I wonder why he didn't speak up," Brook added. "Please, let him speak."

"Luffy?" Zerina asked. Everyone turned their attention back to her. Her eyebrows were turned up in confusion. "Do you…this whole time? You actually knew what a girlfriend was?"

"I did," Luffy replied with a nod.

"But you never said anything. And I kept telling everyone you didn't know what that meant," Zerina said. She rubbed her fingers over her forehead. "I feel so confused. You mean, _literally_ , this entire time?"

"I knew!" Luffy nodded with a huge grin.

"Then why didn't you say so?!" Zerina demanded. "Why let me keep telling people you didn't know what that meant?!"

"Because I thought you looked so cute," Luffy replied. His eyes took on a mischievous smile.

Zerina's jaw dropped. She stared in disbelief at the man before her. Her face flushed as her mind reminded her about the times that Luffy kissed her. He was completely aware of what he was doing the entire time. _She_ was the one who was being naïve. _She_ was the one who didn't know what was going on. _She_ had no clue. _She_ didn't know anything.

She let her bangs fall over her eyes. Without warning, she reached up and slapped him. The slap resonated through the cavern. It made everyone stop and look at the pirates. The Straw Hats gasped. Mari and Jon blinked. Shanks smiled.

Zerina gritted her teeth. Fresh tears dripped down her cheeks as she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. She said, "Lalu…please…help me."

Luffy turned his head back in the correct position. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close to his body. He said, "Of course I will."

The Straw Hats smile.

"About time," Shanks said.

"So you knew despite her living here on Hydra?" Mari asked.

"Of course I did," Shanks replied with a nod. He then held a grumpy expression on his face. "Despite it being Luffy, I'm still upset that my _baby_ has a boyfriend! She's far too young for all of that!"

Luffy held her close until her crying started to fade away. He then pushed her away from him just enough to press his lips to hers. Her cheeks flushed, but she kissed him back. She ran her fingers through his hair, pushing off his straw hat, and pulled him closer to her.

The more loud Straw Hats couldn't help but cheer. Usopp said, "Woohoo! Yeah!"

"Super cute!" Franky said.

"That's so sweet!" Chopper said.

Jon, rolling his eyes, said, "All right, all right! There will be plenty of time for that later. Right now, we've got far more important things to worry about."

Luffy pulled away from Zerina and chuckled. He said, "Sorry, sorry. Let's get to work then."

"Yeah, sorry." Zerina chuckled nervousily.

"All right," Jon said. "First thing we need to do is-"

"Get Zerina some clothes!" Luffy announced. Zerina looked down at herself and blinked as he wrapped himself around her body a couple of times. She had forgotten she was in nothing but her underwear and bra. He glared at his male crew subordinates. "I won't have you perverts looking at her like this any longer."

"We're not looking at her like that!" Usopp shouted.

"Don't call me a pervert!" Zoro snapped. The two started beating Luffy up.

Zerina shook her head at the display the pirates put on before her. She said, "I don't think I'll ever get use to them."

"Well, he is right. You should get dress," Mari said, standing up. She took a hold of Zerina's arm and led her away from the group.

"Don't take too long, Rina!" Luffy called out.

Zerina waved to him from over her shoulder. She gave him a sympathetic look when she saw his sad, puppy dog expression from her being separated from him. She sighed. "He's such a silly guy. I'm only going to be gone for a few minutes."

"He's love-struck," Mari said. "I think it helped that you two finally got your feelings out in the opening. It was sweet."

"I can't believe he knew this entire time," Zerina said with another sigh, a slightly aggravated one. "And I can't believe I never noticed."

"It doesn't matter now," Mari said with a chuckle. She led Zerina over to a smaller cavern that was connected to the larger one. Inside were a couple of suitcases. "I snuck out some of your clothes while you were gone."

"This is insane," Zerina said. She knelt down to the one of the suitcases and opened it. She filtered through it until she found a black tank top and matching cargo pants. While she pulled them on, Mari grabbed a pair of boots for her. She sat down on the suitcase and pulled the shoes on.

"I suppose it is," Mari said. She looked up at the ceiling of the cavern. "It's kind of odd that we're in the middle of a war. It really doesn't feel like it."

"Hm," Zerina hummed. "I feel like I've been in a war for my entire life. I just w-i-s-h I knew what the heck I was suppose to do now."

"You're going to save us," Mari said. She looked at Zerina.

"I don't know how," Zerina whispered.

"It's time you figured that out," Mari replied. "If you are done dressing and moping about, you have an entire army of your own who's ready to help you take that witch out. Are you ready?"

Zerina took in a deep breath. Her mind filled with all the things that has happened these past two years. It felt impossible that it was coming to an end. Was it possible? Was she actually going to be free? She released her breath. "Let's get this over with."

"Right!" Mari nodded. She led the way back to the pirates.

Zerina sat down. Luffy immediately plopped down beside her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders while rubbing his cheek against hers. She chuckled before looking over the rest of the pirates. Her eyes came to rest on Shanks. He said, "It's time. Let's get to work."

"Right." Zerina nodded. Shanks then filled her in on what he had told the Straw Hats before they came here. "Are you serious? The answer to all of this is in the song that mother taught me? That's why you said it was so important."

"That's correct." Shanks nodded.

"That doesn't seem like much help," Zerina muttered. "How is it possible a song can be the key to leading me and Luffy to freeing the Starlings?"

"The answer is there," Shanks said. "You just have to find it."

"But how can I find it when I don't have all my memories?" Zerina asked. "I don't…didn't even notice I was missing so many. I can't even tell what I'm missing. Ugh! This whole magic thing doesn't make sense. I still feel like the only memory that's missing is from the time I spent on your ship."

"And you're not alone," Robin said.

"We're here to help you," Sanji added.

"Let's see what we can figure out," Usopp said. He looked at Zerina. "Would you mind singing the song for us?"

"Well, I, uh," Zerina mutter. She's never sung that song in front of so many people. Usually, it was just in front of Luffy or by herself. She never was the shy type, but suddenly, that's all she felt like she was.

"Go on, Rina!" Luffy cheered. "You've a beautiful voice! Let's hear it!"

Zerina turned her eyes to him. She took in his confident, childlike smile before letting her eyes drift up to the eight-pointed star that was still on his forehead. She sighed. She wanted to deny it, but knew it wasn't possible. He wouldn't let her if she tried. So she took a deep breath and let it out. She started to sing.

"Oh La Lalu, Oh La Lalu

Oh, my little star keeper

He'll gather up the stardust for you

Oh La Lalu, Oh La Lalu

Little soft wish maker

Here comes the star key for you

Oh La Lalu, Oh La Lalu

Little sweet star sprites are dancing just for you

So trust in him, let him help

Oh La Lalu, Oh La Lalu

And his love be your keeper

Oh La Lalu, La Lalu, La Lalu"

It was awkward and shy at first, but once she got through the first half of the song, Brook pulled out his violin. She smiled at him, a simple thanks for the assistance, and raised her voice.

Everyone in the cavern stopped what they were doing. They gathered around her and listened to her song. She blocked them out. Pretending they weren't there, she closed her eyes and sang through the song once more before easing into a stop. The gathered crowd clapped. Zerina's cheeks flushed a bright red. She waved and politely thanked them. "Thank you all."

She was grateful when they all wondered off instead of staying around. She slumped into Luffy's hold then looked around at the crew. All of their eyes were widened. They were impressed.

"You have a very lovely voice," Nami said after five minutes, solid, of silence.

"Thanks, but it's nothing special," Zerina replied. She twitched and scratched her ear.

"Don't be so humble," Brook said. Zerina looked up at him when he bent over in front of her. "With some more practice, you could be world famous. I could assist you with that if you like."

"Oh no, no, no!" Zerina waved her hands. "I don't want to be a singer! I just like singing occasionally! I really only know that one song so well because I've sung it for so long!"

"It's settled then!" Luffy announced.

"What's settled?" Zerina asked, wiping her eyes to him.

"You're the Straw Hat crew's official singer!" Luffy shouted.

"That's not even a real position on a pirate crew!" Zerina snapped, half-heartedly. She pinched his cheek. "Will you stop making things up?"

"It is too real! Brook's our musician after all! You're co-captain and our singer!" Luffy huffed. "And that's final!"

"Don't fight it, Zer," Zoro said. Zerina snapped her eyes over to him. "You know how he is. He got you to be co-captain after all."

Zerina growled and glared at the swordsman. He was the last she expected to agree with Luffy so easily. She released Luffy's cheek and said, "Fine! I'll be the Straw Hat crew's co-captain and singer! But I _do not_ want to be world famous!"

"Well, tough! I'm going to be King of the Pirates!" Luffy said. He pulled her closer and kissed her cheek. "That automatically makes you my Pirate Queen!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Zerina rolled her eyes. "You gonna become king first, Mr. I'm in a Hurry to Become Pirate King!"

"If you two are done flirting," Jon then said. The two teens looked at the man. He had his arms crossed and a highly annoyed look on his face.

"Sorry," Luffy and Zerina said.

"Let's get started then," Franky said. "Has anyone figured out anything yet?"

"Nope," Usopp said.

"No idea," Chopper added.

"I don't think we're going to figure anything out without the complete memories of Zerina," Robin said.

All eyes turned to the pair. Luffy and Zerina looked at everyone before looking at each other. Luffy tilted his head. He said, "I don't know. What could we possibly be missing in our memories?"

"What do you mean by that, Luffy?" Usopp asked.

"What do you mean?" Luffy asked.

"You said 'in _our_ memories'," Usopp replied. "But Shanks said only Zerina was missing memories."

"I dunno," Luffy said with a shrug.

"Then stop saying things like that!" Usopp shouted.

"Wait," Sanji said. They all looked at him. He then looked at Shanks. "Luffy might actually be on to something. Tell me what all you told the crew again."

Shanks nodded then proceeded to the cook what all he told the Straw Hat crew back on the Sunny once more.

"I see," Sanji said. He puffed on his cigarette.

"What is it, Sanji?" Chopper asked.

"Zerina?" Sanji turned to the red haired girl.

"Yes?" Zerina returned his look. "What is it?"

"Why do you call Luffy Lalu?" Sanji asked.

"Well, because I…" Zerina paused. With her eyebrows kneaded, she looked at Luffy then back at Sanji. "I don't know. I just always called him that."

"What's up, Sanji?" Nami asked.

"Zerina calls Luffy Lalu," Sanji said. "Don't you remember the song?"

"Lalu is in the lyrics," Brook said. Sanji nodded.

Zerina started speaking the words to the song again.

"Oh La Lalu, Oh La Lalu

Oh, my little star keeper

He'll gather up the stardust for you

Oh La Lalu, Oh La Lalu

Little soft wish maker

Here comes the star key for you

Oh La Lalu, Oh La Lalu

Little sweet star sprites are dancing just for you

So trust in him, let him help

Oh La Lalu, Oh La Lalu

And his love be your keeper

Oh La Lalu, La Lalu, La Lalu"

She tapped her fingers on her knees. "Lalu…star keeper…gather up the stardust…little soft wish maker…here comes the…star key for you!"

Zerina whipped her eyes to the star on Luffy's forehead. She placed her index and middle finger of her right hand on the star. Before anyone else could say anything, she said, "I wish to be taken to the Starlings!"

"Ah!" The Straw Hats, but Robin, screamed. "She made a wish!"

"Why would she do that knowing what happens?!" Usopp shrieked. Tears were pouring down his eyes like waterfalls.

"Zerina! What were you thinking?!" Mari and Jon demanded. They're eyes were widened with fear.

Shanks just smiled as Luffy and Zerina started to glow white. He closed his eyes and dipped his chin when, with a flash of light, the two disappeared from sight. He said, "So she finally figured it out. That didn't take as long as I thought it would."

Once the light vanished, the Straw Hats looked around. Chopper asked, "Where did they go?!"

"Is she crazy?!" Nami demanded. She whipped out her staff. "Why would she make a wish like that when she knows what happens when wishes are made on her?!"

"What happened?!" Usopp pulled out his slingshot. He loaded it and aimed it everywhere in the cavern. "Where is it?! Where's the danger?! What did the wish create this time?!"

"I don't see anything!" Franky said. His eyes darted around the cave. "Didn't she make a wish? She did, right? Or were we all hearing things?"

"She made a wish, all right," Shanks said. "And it was the right wish."

"Okay, what's going on?" Zoro asked.

"Zerina and Luffy went to retrieve the Starlings," Shanks replied. "They both were the key this entire time. See, when Zerina and Luffy met for the first time, she gave him half of her magic. Therefore, she gave him half of the key that would lead her to the Starlings."

"She did that on purpose? Why?" Nami asked.

"No, it wasn't on purpose," Shanks said. "We, Zerina's mother and I, don't know why she did it. As said before, magic often never has completely clear answers. We believe that this is one of those times. Zerina's mother suspected it had something to do with Zerina's instability. She thinks that Luffy was meant to be that stabilizing force that Zerina needed to complete this mission. She also thinks this separation caused Zerina to forget some things."

"So what was that star gem thing?" Chopper asked.

"That was created when Zerina gave half of her magic to Luffy. It helped Zerina sleep and become stable at certain times. This happen more often when she was a child. And it's only happened once since she's been with you Straw Hats," Shanks said. "But that's all I know. I believe if we are to get anymore answers, we're just going to have to wait for Zerina and Luffy to come back with the Starlings. This is originally their magic after all."

"So what do we do now?" Zoro asked.

"We wait for them to come back with the Starlings," Shanks replied. "That's all we can do."

"Well, so far, this is the easiest battle we've ever been in," Usopp said as he kicked back on the couch and crossed his legs. Just then, everything started shaking. Pieces of the cavern started to fall in on them.

"You just had to open your big, fat mouth!" Sanji snapped as he kicked away a large piece of rock that was about to fall onto some kids.

"What's happening?" Robin asked. She crossed her arms. Forming her giant arms to grab some falling rocks. "Mil Fleur! Gigantesco Mano!"

"Weapon's Left!" Franky cried.

"Ah!" Brook screamed when a large rock about landed on him. "We're going to get buried alive here! Or crushed to death! Well, not me since I'm already dead!"

"Angel might be up there," Mira said. "It feels like she's shaking this whole entire island to find us."

"Can she do that?!" Usopp shrieked.

"Well, they do make wishes," Zoro said calmly while slicing up some falling rocks.

"We're going to be in serious trouble if they break into this place," Mari said. She looked at the other inhabitants of Hydra. Some were running around, trying to escape from the falling rocks while others were making wishes to remove the rocks or change them into something less heavy and harmful. "We're not strong enough to fight directly with the elite. And I doubt you pirates have anything in your fighting styles to handle them."

"Ah! So what do we do?!" Chopper asked. "We literally can't fight them then!"

"I think that's already been established!" Zoro snapped.

"Ah! Luffy! Zerina! Hurry up!" Usopp wailed. "I don't want to die here!"

…

 **Author Notes: I hope this chapter is okay. I still feel like it's a bit confusing. The Starlings explanation next chapter might fix that.**

 **grace-adalyn: Thanks. I'm glad you like it. Though it's not the best. I didn't realize making a story about wishes like this would turn out to be so hard to write.**

 **Hikari302: Thanks. Glad ya like it.**

 **Rodinaashraf: I'm trying to get it all cleared up. I meant to answer the question to why she couldn't be killed in the last chapter, but forgot it. Hopefully it's cleared up now that I fixed Shanks' explanation.**


	15. Finally Free

**I'm not sure if I cleared everything up here or not. If I didn't, let me know and I'll fix it.**

Finally Free

"Huh?! Ah! Where are we?!" Luffy ask, his eyes darting around everywhere. Surrounding him and Zerina was nothing but a bluish black void with shining sparkles that resembled stars. The air was cold, but neither of them shivered.

One of the sparkles floated up to Zerina. It bumped into her nose and busted into several tiny little sparkles before fading off. She said, "I think we're inside the island."

"Inside the island?" Luffy looked down. Nothing appeared to be under their feet, but more bluish black darkness and sparkles. He dripped his toes down, but felt nothing underneath them at all. He straightened back up and put his hands behind his head. "Huh? This is a weird place. Well, what do we do now?"

"I'm not really sure," Zerina said. She looked at Luffy. He still wore the star on his forehead. "Half of my magic was stored inside of you. I made the correct wish that brought us to this place. I made a wish, but nothing bad happened. I don't understand."

"Perhaps I can explain," A tiny, familiar voice said.

"Huh?! Who said that?!" Luffy asked. He darted his eyes around again.

"That voice was…" Zerina looked around. At the same time, Luffy and Zerina saw a red sparkling star coming towards them.

"Whaaaa!" Luffy freaked. "That thing is on fire!"

Zerina took a closer look. The closer the star came to her she noticed it taking a different shape. Once close enough, the star took the form of a small person with spiky hair and pointy ears. The light around the creature faded and revealed the little person was covered in a soft reddish orange fur. Her eyes were yellow with a small star shimmering in place of a pupil. "Who are you?"

"My name is Lit," The creature said.

"It's you. You're the voice that kept talking to me," Zerina said.

"That's right." Lit nodded.

"Hm?" Luffy blinked several times. He had his arms crossed over his chest while he took in the creature. He then grabbed her little feet. Holding her upside down, he continued to run his eyes over her furry little body. "Why are you naked?"

"I'm not naked! I'm furry!" Lit snapped. She swiped her small hands at Luffy but was unable to hit him. "Let go of me!"

"Luffy, behave," Zerina said. She took Lit from his fingers and placed the creature in her palm. "Will you tell us what's going on?"

"I'll try," Lit said, shooting Luffy a glare. "I have no idea how you bonded with him. It seems so impossible."

"Bonded?" Zerina asked. "You know about that?"

"Yes." Lit nodded. She sat down in Zerina's palm and crossed her arms and legs. "It might not make much sense, but you giving half of your magic to his guy really doesn't have a clear answer. The only thing we can figure out is, you gave half of your magic to him to stabilize yourself."

"Stabilize myself?" Zerina asked. "That doesn't make any sense. I'm not stable at all. I make a mess of everything when someone makes a wish."

"Think about your wishes, Zerina," Lit said. "They never really did cause that much damage. Those snake creatures you created were still defeated. It took a lot, but they were still stopped. If you had your full magic the damage would have been a lot greater. You're wishes could actually done damage on a global scale."

"What?!" Zerina gasped.

"Hm?" Luffy hummed.

"Sorry. I don't mean to freak you out," Li replied. "But you had to know that. On a better note, you can actually control it."

"I can control it?" Zerina asked. "How is that possible?"

"It's possible because your dark wishes and everyone else's light wishes are actually one in the same," Lit replied. "But because of the circumstances surrounding your birth, the dark side of your magic actually overshadows the light side of it. Normally the light side is supposed to block out the dark side. Though I suppose it doesn't really matter. Angel proved that magic of light can be used for bad things too. Once we get out of here, we're going to take away their magic."

"Are you going to take away Rina's magic too?" Luffy asked. "She didn't do anything wrong."

"No," Lit replied. "It really wouldn't be fair to take away the magic from those who've done nothing wrong. We're just going to have to be more careful with who we give this gift to. And once we notice someone taking advantage of their gift, we're going to have to take it away from them."

"What about my mother?" Zerina asked.

"Yes, I know you have many questions," Lit said. "And we're going to answer them all."

"We?" Luffy asked. Just then several more Starlings flew up to them. Luffy gasped at all the colorful creatures that now surrounded them. They were of all colors. Oranges, purples, blues, yellows, greens, reds. Some soft pastel color, some darker shades, some lighter shades. But they all had the same spiky style hair and a star in place of their pupils. "There's so many of them. And they're so colorful."

"When your mother decided to move against Angel," Lit said. "We helped her. While Angel did take away our magic, we still retained some of it. And together we helped your mother escape this place."

"You helped her escape?" Zerina asked.

"We did." Lit nodded. "Do you know that portal Mari and Jon helped you escaped from?"

"You know Mari and Jon?" Zerina asked.

"We told them about the portal. We knew they were loyal friends to you and your mother," Lit replied. "We created that portal so your mother could go back down to the planet and have you. We were counting on you to come back and free us. What we didn't count on was you giving half of your magic to his guy. When you did, part of your memories vanished. We had to come up with that song you sing as a remind to you on where half of your magic was. We were hoping that you would figure it out sooner than you did."

"Mother's song?" Zerina asked.

"Yes." Lit nodded. "When you gave half of your magic to him, you started calling him Lalu."

"So? She's always called me that," Luffy said. He pulled his legs up underneath him and took a hold of his ankles.

Zerina lifted an eyebrow at him. Sitting cross-legged, he remanded floating in place. She turned her eyes back to Lit. The Starling said, "We believe that star was meant to be a stabilizer. Part of both of your life forces is sealed within it. That's why when Luffy made wishes, nothing bad ever happened. It connected you to each other."

"I'm sorry," Zerina replied with a sigh. "Everything seems so messed up. I didn't mean to make a mess of things."

"It's not your fault so don't worry about it. Besides, it really doesn't matter. Sometimes plans just get messed up. Nothing ever goes perfectly," Lit replied. She flew up to Zerina's face and placed her hand on Zerina's cheek. "What matters now is that we take care of this problem. As soon as that is done, we can stabilize your magic."

"You can fix her?" Luffy asked.

"We can." Lit nodded with a soft smile. "It's a gift after all."

Zerina carefully studied Lit's expression. Sometime about the Starling's expression sent small alarms going off in her head. It was nothing bad, but it wasn't good either.

"That's great! Isn't that great, Rina?!" Luffy asked with a huge grin. His grin faded when he noticed she wasn't smiling. "Rina? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Zerina replied. She gave Luffy a halfhearted grin. "It's just hard to believe. That's all. This whole mess will soon be over. And I won't be making dark wishes anymore."

"Well, believe it," Lit said. "Now, let's get back to the exterior of Hydra."

"Right!" Luffy and Zerina nodded.

"Uh, how do we get back?" Luffy asked.

"Through Zerina's and your magic," Lit replied. She flew up to Luffy's face and placed her small hand on the star.

"What?!" Luffy shrieked when Lit and the star on his forehead started glowing.

"Here we go," Lit said. She lifted her free hand towards Zerina.

Somehow knowing what to do, Zerina lifted her hand and gave Lit her index finger. The glow from Lit and Luffy spread to her. Zerina asked, "Wait. How exactly are we supposed to fight Angel?"

"Don't worry about that. We'll help you fight," Lit said just before the light grew brighter and they disappeared.

…

"Ah!" Brook screamed when a large rock fell right beside him.

"We really could use Luffy's help right now!" Franky said. He pulled back his fist and punched a rock, shattering it. "Strong Right!"

"Gigantesco Mano!" Robin called out. She spread her hands over a large group of people, protecting them from falling rocks. "We have to get them out of here!"

"We're trying!" Jon shouted out. He and several others were up against the back wall. They were using their magic to try and create a passageway for the people to escape from. "But the damage they're causing from above keeps slowing us down! Rocks, dirt, and trees keep falling down! Once we get them cleared out of the way, more just fall down!"

"Ah!" A woman screamed. She tripped on a rock and fell to the ground. She curled into ball when she noticed several rocks and trees falling towards her.

"Diable Jambe!" Sanji kicked a couple rocks then broke up a couple of trees. He landed on the ground and helped the woman get back to her feet. "Hurry up!"

"Uh, thank you," The woman smiled at him. She was tall, curvy, with long hair and rounded eyes.

"My pleasure!" Sanji said with hearts in his eyes. Drool ran down his chin while he watched the woman run off.

"Stop flirting, you stupid cook!" Zoro snapped. He sliced up a rock then looked around the cave. "We can't keep this up forever!"

"We're literally getting no where!" Nami said. She batted smaller rocks with her baton.

Just then a large quake shook through the ground. The cave ceiling above them ripped open. Light poured in from above, temporarily blinding everyone inside of the cave. They shielded their eyes. When they adjusted to the light, they looked up to see a very angry woman glaring down at them. She was surrounded in a grey colored glow. Her dress was rumpled and her hair was pulled out in several places from her lopsided bun.

"Great," Sanji grumbled. "That witch is back."

"You!" Angel hissed. Her hate filled eyes landed on Jon and Mari. "You two have ruined everything!"

"You two, get out of here!" Sanji said. He leaped in front of the two that Angel was clearly targeting.

"We can't just leave!" Mari protested.

"You don't have any choice!" Zoro said. He joined Sanji. "She's clearly targeting you two!"

"Get out of here! Now!" Nami shouted. She twirled her baton.

Mari and Jon turned to run, but it was too late. Angel's glow spread out to them and wrapped around them. She lifted them into the air. Hissing, she said, "I want you to die! I wish you two would suffocate!"

"No!" The pirates shouted.

"Leave them alone!" Shanks demanded. He narrowed his eyes at Angel and sent a wave of his haki towards her. He growled when it didn't work.

"I wish all you pirates will freeze in place!" Angel shrieked. All the pirates froze in place. The people screamed and scattered. Angel glared at them, but didn't try to silence them. She focused her eyes back on Mari and Jon. Her glow was strangling them. A smirk pulled across her face as she watched them claw helplessly at the glow as the life drained from their eyes. "Now! Die!"

A flash of light washed through the room. It died down, revealing, Zerina and Luffy along with the Starlings. Zerina ran her eyes over everything and everyone. She gasped when she saw the pirates frozen and Mari and Jon hanging limply from Angel's glow. Her own glow flared up. She screamed, "No! Let them go!"

"You!" Angel snapped. She tightened her glow around Mari and Jon's necks before letting their bodies drop to the ground with a hard thump. "You horrid little girl!"

Zerina's eyes widened at the two lifeless bodies laying on the ground. Hot tears streaked down her face. She glared at Angel. "How could you?! They did nothing wrong! I'm the one you hate! You're going to pay for that!"

"You're going to died!" Angel shrieked. "I don't care how! Somehow I will kill you!"

Zerina growled. She took a step forward, but was stopped by a hand taking hers. She shot a glare at the person stopping her. "Let go, Luffy!"

"No," Luffy replied. He tightened his hold on her hand. "I'm not letting you do this alone."

"I can't let you," Zerina said. More tears spilled down her face. "I won't let her kill anyone else."

"We won't let her kill another person," A Starling said.

"We're protect everyone from this point on," Another Starling said. They began to fly over to all of the people in the cave.

Zerina and Luffy watched. The Starlings sat down on people's heads and shoulders and started to glow. Zerina asked, "What's going on?"

"Our magic is starting to return," Lit replied. She flew up to Zerina's shoulder and sat down on it. "Are you ready?"

Zerina looked at Mari and Jon. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. Opening her eyes, she looked at Luffy. He smiled and nodded at her. She said, "Yeah. I'm ready for this nightmare to be over."

"Then let's proceed," Lit said.

"I wish you Starlings would disappear for good!" Angel shrieked. Her glow shot out at the three facing off against her. She gasped when her glow was deflected by Zerina's glow. "What?!"

"Angel," Zerina said. "You have for far too long abused the gift that the Starlings have given you. We're taking it back. You'll no longer rule unfairly over people. You and yours will no longer be more powerful than everyone else. It's over. Just give up. You can't win."

"No!" Angel snapped. "I won't lose against a horrid little brat like you! You're weak! You're worthless!"

"Zerina is not worthless! And she's not weak!" Luffy growled. "She's a lot stronger than you will ever be! She's endured so much crap that you have put her through! She could have given up, but she didn't! She didn't because she knew one day that she would be free! Well, she's free now! And I'm going to keep her that way!"

"Luffy," Zerina whispered. She took a look at the young man beside her. He was glowing. His glow stretched out to her. His glow wrapped around her own glow like it was protecting it.

"We will be taking back our gift now," Lit said. She extended all of their glow out towards Angel.

"No!" Angel wailed when their glow wrapped around her. She struggled against their glow, but couldn't move away from it. It was starting to pull her magic out of her. Her eyes widened in fear and hatred at losing her magic and her youth. She shrieked out again and threw up her hands. Several strands of magic glow came from all corners of Hydra and flowed into her opened palms. "I won't let you take my power!"

"What's she doing?!" Luffy asked.

"She's trying to pull all of the magic from the people to her," Lit replied. "We have to take it back before she can get it."

"Right!" Zerina said. "How do we do that?"

"Just focus on the magic that's floating in the air towards her," Lit replied. She moved up to Zerina's head. "Do what you can to pull as much towards us as possible. We're still weak so we need your assistance in taking back our magic. Once we get enough of our magic back inside of us, we can completely drain Angel of hers."

"Right!" Luffy and Zerina nodded. They pushed passed Angel's shrieking and focused on the magic that was flying towards the irate woman. They wrapped their glow around the Starlings magic and pulled it to them. When the magic was in their bodies, they filtered it back out to the rightful owners.

Around the cave, Starlings were drinking their magic back in through their bodies. They own glows were starting to grow brighter. Their magic was returning to them.

"No!" Angel hissed. She pulled in as much magic as she could and sent a wave of magical energy at Luffy, Zerina and Lit.

The wave collided with their own magic, pushing them several feet back. Zerina and Luffy tightened their hold on each other as wind began to blow. Their clothes and hair flapped wildly. They stood strong while others ducked down and anchored themselves in place to keep from getting blown away.

"Just hold on a little bit longer!" Lit said, glancing back at the other people in the cave. The pirates were still frozen, but were slowly being pushed back by the wind. "You can do it!"

"Right!" Luffy and Zerina nodded in understanding.

"We won't stop!" Zerina said. "I won't let anyone else die because of me!"

Zerina's magic flared up. They started pulling back the Starlings magic at a faster place.

"What?!" Angel asked when she noticed that her magic was faltered before her eyes. Her body started feeling weak. "I can't lose! I won't lose!"

"You already have!" Lit said. Her tiny voice echoed out and around the cave. "You will no longer oppress people who have done nothing to you!"

"Angel! Your rule is over!" Zerina said.

With one more push, Angel's glow faded away. She shrieked out as the magic left her body. Her color faded away as her skin turned wrinkled and grey. Her hair turned an ashy white and hung loosely down around her shoulders when it fell from the bun. Her body then started crumbling into dust.

The wish around the pirates faded away. They inspected their bodies and moved their limbs to make sure they were really all right.

"Are we alive?" Chopper asked.

"I think so," Nami said. She looked around. Her eyes widened when she saw the last bit of Angel crumble away. "What is that?! What's going on?!"

"Angel has been defeated," Shanks said. He looked around at the glowing Starlings. "The Starlings have their magic back now. It's over."

"Yeah! We made it! We're alive!" Usopp shouted. He danced around with Chopper. They paused. Their laughter faded when the noticed Jon and Mari.

The rest of the pirates looked at Mari and Jon too. They then looked over at Zerina, Luffy and the Starling that was with them. Lit was know kneeling on Zerina's head. Her little hands were folded like she was saying a pray.

"Did we do it?" Zerina asked. "She's really gone?"

Luffy gave Zerina a grin. The grin faded when he noticed something happening to Lit. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"Fixing Zerina's magic," Lit said, her voice still echoing. She floated off Zerina's head and down to where the girl could see her. She smiled.

"What are you…" Zerina started. Her eyes widened when she realized what the Starling was doing. "No! You can't!"

"It's all right, Zerina," Lit said. "This is the only way."

"But that's not right! I don't want you to sacrifice yourself just to stop my Dark Wishes! It's not fair!" Zerina said.

"Not much in life is ever fair. We knew this would happen from the beginning," Lit said. "Don't worry about it. I was prepared for this since the beginning."

"But…" Zerina looked over at Mari and Jon. "Far too many have died already. I don't want to lose anyone else."

"Death is a part of life, Zerina," Lit said. She placed her small hand on Zerina's cheek. "Mari and Jon knew from the beginning that this was a possibility. They were prepared to make this sacrifice to save you."

"Just like your mother did," Shanks said. He walked up to Zerina and placed his hand on her shoulder. "They did all of this to protect you and free the people of Hydra."

"They had all of this planned?" Zerina asked. Shanks nodded.

"It's time," Lit said. Her glow became brighter. She wrapped her glow around Zerina. Her glow seeped into Zerina's body then died down. "Farewell."

Zerina closed her eyes. Tears streamed out of her face. She felt both Luffy and Shanks put their arms around her. She let them hold her. She clung to both of them and cried. It wasn't until a small white glow, between her and Luffy, started glowing that they pulled away from her. She held out her hands for the glow. It floated down into her palms then took the form of a baby Starling. She lifted an eyebrow. "What?"

"This is what happens when a Starling's light dies," A green Starling said. He floated over to Luffy and Zerina. "You could say that we are similar to a phoenix in that regard."

"So, Lit didn't die?" Zerina asked.

"I'm afraid she did. This little one will look like Lit, but she won't have her personality or her glow," The green Starling said. "This baby Starling is yours and Luffy's child."

"What?" Zerina, Luffy and Shanks all asked at the same time.

"To be able to stabilize your magic," The green Starling explained. "She had to take a part of your magic from both of you. I suppose you could say that your magic had holes in it. All she did was she used her own magic to patch up the holes."

"And she knew this would happen?" Zerina asked.

"She did. But she was prepared to make the sacrifice to save us all," The green Starling said.

"Just like mother, Mari and Jon," Zerina whispered.

"They were looking at the bigger picture," Shanks said. He then glared. "But I didn't know you two would end up with a child."

"I hate it. I hate that it had to end this way," Zerina said. The little Starling stretched out in her palms and yawned. Her white glow faded as she opened her eyes. Her eyes silver with a hint of red in them. She smiled up at Zerina then started sucking on her thumb and fell asleep again. Zerina couldn't help but smile.

"She's so cute!" Luffy smiled. He stroked his finger over the baby Starling's head. Their Starling child rolled over and grabbed a hold of Luffy's finger. He laughed when she wouldn't let go. "Looks like she's going to be daddy's little girl."

"This isn't happening," Zerina said.

"This is so weird," Robin said, inspecting the baby clinging to her captain's finger.

"Luffy as a parent," Sanji said. "Tell me this isn't happening."

"Isn't the child going to stay here on Hydra?" Brook asked. "She is a Starling, right?"

"She is," The green Starling replied. "But she's different. Her birth is tied to Luffy and Zerina. She has to stay with them so she can keep Zerina's magic under control."

"This child has to grow up and remain with her parents?" Usopp asked. He inspected the baby. "That would drive me nuts. Being an adult, but still living with your parents."

"She'll remain a child for several years," A blue Starling said. "We take over fifty years to grow out of our infant stages."

"Fifty years?!" Usopp shrieked. "That's crazy!"

"She'll want to stay with her parents anyway," The blue Starling said with a shrug. "So it won't matter."

"So what happens now?" Zoro asked. He sheathed his swords.

"Now, we return Hydra to where it belongs," The green Starling said. "Then we make sure that all of those who were abusing their magic get kicked off the island. We don't want anything like this to happen again."

"We also need to see to the burials of Mari and Jon," Robin said softly.

…

Zerina was sitting at the graves of Mari and Jon, hugging her knees. The wind teased her hair and cooled her tears. The ceremony had ended almost two hours ago, but she still didn't feel like leaving them. She barely registered her dad walking up to her until he sat down beside her. He said, "You know they wouldn't want you to be sad."

"Yeah," Zerina mumbled. She brushed away her tears, but more came. "I know."

"The Starlings have rounded up all of the elite," Shanks reported. "They're ready to pass their sentence down on them and lower the island back to where it belongs."

Zerina didn't reply right away. She tried to let everything that's happened sink in, but she wasn't able to process it just yet. "It doesn't seem possible. After all this time…"

"Your mother would be so proud of you," Shanks said.

"I didn't really do anything," Zerina replied. "It was all the Starlings."

"No, it wasn't. It was mostly because of you," Shanks said. "You hung in there. Despite the way you were treated, you still hung on. You knew that someday you would be freed from all of this. And now you are."

"Finally free," Zerina said. "And part of me still wants to stay here. But there's no reason for that. It's stupid."

"I suppose it is," Shanks agreed. "But despite all of the bad things that happened here, some good things happened as well."

"Like what?" Zerina asked.

"You're a great cook," Shanks said.

"I actually hate cooking," Zerina said with a light chuckle. "Though, I might keeping doing it so I can spend some quality time with Sanji."

"So you are staying with the Straw Hats," Shanks said.

"Did you have any doubt?" Zerina looked at him.

"None," Shanks said. "Though I'm still not that happy about you and Luffy having a child."

"But you love Luffy," Zerina said. She poked him in the ribs.

"I love you more," Shanks said. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his side. "And you're not suppose to have a child until you get married."

"It's not like we had sex, daddy," Zerina stated bluntly.

Shanks' face grew two shades redder than his hair. Zerina couldn't help but laugh at him.

"Don't tell me you've never thought of that," Zerina said. "We are in a relationship."

Shanks' jaw dropped open.

"And you know, we'll be sailing all over the world together," Zerina teased. "It's only a matter of time before our relationship becomes a sexual one."

Shanks' jaw bobbed up and down a few times before he was able to find his voice. "You two are not going to have a sexual relationship!"

"Well, eventually we will," Zerina said. She extracted herself from her dad's hold, brushed her pants off and headed back towards the mansion where everyone was staying until it was time to go back to the Sunny.

"No! You! Won't!" Shanks growled. He jumped to his feet and followed after her. "Zerina! Come back here!"

"Nope!" Zerina laughed. She picked up her speed and ran back to the mansion with her dad trailing after her and shouting threats of what he was going to do to Luffy if they had sex out of wedlock.

Zerina ran into the mansion. She heard the crew talking in the living room and headed towards them.

"So basically it was all just an accident?" Nami asked. "None of this actually had to happen?"

"Pretty much on the accident part," Crystal, a yellow Starling, said. She and several other Starlings were lounging about in the room with the pirates. "But I doubt this whole thing over all was an accident. Sometimes things are just mean to happen."

"I still feel like this was all Luffy's fault," Usopp said.

"Just like always," Chopper added with a nod.

"Well, look on the bright side," Sanji said. He looked up as the two red haired pirates walked into the room. He winked at her. "If it didn't happen, we might not have ever met Zerina."

"You do have a point there," Usopp said.

"So this was a happy accident," Chopper said.

"So it's all right then," Luffy said with a smile. Zerina walked over to him. He was sitting on one of the many couches in the large room. Their child was inside of his vest. She had her little white arms draped over the edge of his shirt and was curiously inspecting everyone.

"Only because we got lucky!" Usopp and Chopper shouted while slapping Luffy over the head.

Zerina sat down beside him and tickled under their Starling child's chin. "How's our baby doing?"

Shanks plopped down on the couch directly across from Zerina and Luffy. He grumbled at her question. She shot a smirk back at him.

"She's great," Luffy replied.

"What are you going to call her?" Robin asked.

"I haven't even thought about it," Zerina said. She looked at their child then at Luffy. "What do you want to call her?"

"Hm." Luffy crossed his arms and hummed. "I don't have a clue."

"Well, we have to call her something," Nami said just as the baby flew out of Luffy's shirt and over to her. She held up her palm and let the baby sit down on her. "She's so cute."

The baby sneezed, causing herself to fall backwards.

"She's so cute!" Chopper squealed. "I can't believe we get to add a baby to our crew."

Shanks growled again. He shot a glare over at Luffy, but the young captain didn't understand its meaning.

"He's just as dense as ever," Zoro said with a huff.

Just then a couple more Starlings flew into the room. One said, "We've gathered up all of the elite. We're also ready to lower the island back down the where it belongs."

"Let's go then," Zerina said. The group stood up and headed outside. They stepped out the doors to find several hundred elite standing before them. Among them was Zerina's uncle. Despite the man's sharp glare at her, she walked over to him. "Really? You're going to blame all of this on me?"

"Well, it is your fault!" Her uncle snapped.

Zerina shook her head. "I have no idea why I even thought for a second you might care. You never did. You never once stood up to Angel. You always just let her hurt me."

"I loved her!" Her uncle growled.

"Sorry." Zerina turned and walked away from him. "I'm having a very hard time believing you even know what that word means."

"Wait!" Taru shouted.

Zerina shivered at his voice and what had almost happened with him.

"What about me?!" Taru asked. He grabbed Zerina's arm. "We are still engaged! We can be happy together! I did nothing wrong!"

"You've done plenty wrong, Taru," Zerina said. She jerked her arm from his hold. "I know all about you. And we're not engaged. I never agreed to that arrangement."

"We are still enga-" Before Taru could finish, Luffy's fist slammed into his face.

"Luffy?" Zerina turned to him.

"I have business with him," Luffy said. He cracked his knuckles. "Baby, go to your mother."

The baby Starling immediately did as she was told while behind them Shanks seethed. Then Luffy stalked towards Taru.

"H-hey now!" Taru protested as Luffy grabbed a hold of his shirt. "I'm innocent in all of this!"  
"Yeah. Right," Luffy said before he pummeled Taru.

"We're ready to lower the island!" A red Starling shouted out. "Here we go!"

The pirates looked up to the sky. All of the Starlings were flying over them. Their glows shining bring making them look like multicolored shooting stars. A few seconds later they felt a soft vibration through the island and it started to lower back down to place it use to be. About ten minutes later, the island was locked back into place with a small jerk. Everyone, but the elite, cheered.

"So it's finally done," Robin said.

"This is great. I feel like a song," Brook said. He looked at Zerina. "Would that be fine?"

"I think that would be great." Zerina nodded. She then walked over to Luffy. She pulled him from Taru before he could kill the man. She wrapped her arms around his while watching the Starlings guide the elite onto boats that they wished into existence. "So it's really over."

"It is," Luffy replied. The Straw Hats watched the Starlings work with smiles on their faces.

"Have you decided on a name?" Sanji asked, stepped up beside Zerina.

"I was thinking we could give her mother's name," Zerina said. She looked at Shanks.

"I think that would be lovely," Shanks replied with a smile. "She would be honored."

"By the way, what is your mother's name?" Nami asked. "I don't think you've ever mentioned it before."

"Nova," Zerina replied.

"That's a very pretty name," Robin said.

"Ah!" Zoro suddenly scream. The group turned to him to find little baby Nova was chewing on his ear. Everyone laughed. "It's not funny! Get her off of me! I'm not her lunch!"

"I guess she is hungry," Zerina said. She took hold of Nova. "Come now. Let go of Uncle Zoro."

Nova giggled and released her hold on the swordsman. She wiggled her little fingers out towards him.

"No! Way! You stay away from me!" Zoro said. "I'm not food!"

The pirates laughed even harder.

"Well, lets get something to eat before heading back to the Sunny," Sanji said as he headed back to the mansion. "Are you fine with that, Zeri?"

Zerina turned her eyes back to the mansion. All of the memories she had there started floating through her mind. They were quickly taken over by all of the memories she had already made with the Straw Hat crew. A smile pulled over her lips. She wanted more good memories in this terrible place before leaving. She said, "Yeah. I'm fine with it."

"Great! Let's eat!" Luffy cheered.

"Dada!" Nova cried out.

"Good girl!" Luffy said. He patted Nova on her head with his finger.

"This is this going to take a lot of getting use to," Shanks grumbled.

"Come on, daddy!" Zerina said. She grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the mansion. "You're going to make a great grandfather."

Nova then flew over to the red haired man. She latched onto his cheek and kissed him. He chuckled. "Well, she is cute."

Zerina smiled. She turned back and looked over Hydra. A huge burden felt like it had been removed. It was finally over. She was with her real family now. She was finally with Luffy. She was finally free.

End

…

 **Author's Notes: I don't think I named Zerina's mom before. I looked, but didn't find it. If I did, let me know and I'll fix it. But that's it for this one. Sorry it wasn't the greatest. I didn't know doing a story on wishes would be this complicated. I'm considering doing a Zerina/Neo cross over in the future but have no solid ideas yet. Thanks for reading and commenting. Later.**

 **Silver Pride: I apparently have a gift for cliffhangers. :/ They just happen and happen and happen.**

 **MisfitMadhatter: We got a bit more Shanks this chapter.**

 **Rodinaashraf: Luffy's such a lovable dork. I think he's smarter than people make him out to be.**

 **PuddyKatz: Yea, they were being stubborn. Glad ya like it.**


End file.
